Finalist
Leyda Su Ham
Nova Southeastern University
Senior in Biology/Psychology
3.76 GPA

Many students are slaves to their high GPAs, but Su Ham has maintained high grades in a demanding major while being constantly active on campus and in her community. Her freshman year, she began with memberships in the Pre-Medical Society and N.A.T.U.R.E (NSU's  Advancement Towards Understanding and Researching the Environment.) She now serves as president of both organizations. If that isn't enough, she also serves a Commuter Senator in NSU's Student Government Association, is a founding member of TriBeta, the biology honor society, and serves as a Presidential Knight, the student ambassadors of NSU.

"There are a lot of students who compete for a position as a Presidential Knight, and just to say she's made that is wonderful in itself," says Terry Morrow, assistant director of student activities and leadership development. "But Leyda has distinguished herself among even those leaders." Presidentials Knights are chosen based on the students as a whole person: GPA, leadership abilities, involvement, personality. Only 40 Presidential Knights serve at a time, but once a student is chosen to be a Knight, she is a Knight for life, chosen to represent the best and brightest at NSU. "She's very committed to getting things done," Morrow says.

And the things she's gotten done are substantial. Just in her position as N.A.T.U.R.E president, Su Ham has coordinated many activities. Most recently, she coordinated with Secret Woods Park to have her group come out and do a tree planting and exotic plant removal. Around Thanksgiving, she coordinated a hunger banquet with NSU's residence life groups and the Cooperative Feeding Program, which educated participants about the unequal distribution of food in today's world. "The room was uniquely organized in a manner that represented different economic and social statuses in the world in terms of hunger," Su Ham says. About 50 students and faculty attended the event, which was capped off with a food drive. Her organization and coordination of a beach clean-up at John Lloyd State Park did more than just clean up the shoreline. "It served as both a volunteer service and a great introduction to NSU for new students," she says. "I also coordinated the involvement of high school students as well as youth groups so that they could receive service hours to apply towards high school graduation."

"She's quite a dynamo but in a really interesting manner," says Dr. Brad Williams, dean of student affairs. "Leyda exemplifies servant leadership in a very strong way. There's a quiet resourcefulness about her that's very refreshing."

The crossover of her interests has served NSU well. In starting TriBeta, members relied on her knowledge of the university and SGA to complete the application process for successfully chartering the organization on both the university and national level. "She's very responsible and reliable," Morrow says. "She stays on top of each step of a project."

As a pre-med student, Su Ham's caring attitude is evident. "As I was growing up, I was always told to respect my elders," she says. "My grandmother's caring and understanding nature was the major stimulus for my beginning an annual event known as the 'Small World Festival' at local geriatric institutes." Having coordinated the last three festivals, she and her fellow students in the Pre-Med Society provided lunch for geriatric residents with ethnic dishes that represent the cultural diversity of the organization. "During one particular festival, we had salsa music on and I noticed the feet of many of the residents confined to wheelchairs moving to the beat," she says. "I smiled because I knew what we were doing had touched them." She also began a toy drive, where students, faculty, and friends donated more than 100 toys. The toys were donated to the Children's AIDS Foundation and to a needy family sponsored by a local elementary school. The holiday food drive was a success as well. "I remember carrying the donated nonperishable goods and canned foods collected from our Holiday Food Drive for the Cooperative Feeding Program and seeing the relieved faces of the family of five," Su Ham says."It moved me to tears." As an orientation leader, Su Ham not only fulfilled her duties well, but she came back the following year to help her successor. "If a student was quiet during orientation, she would be the one to wander over, sit next to them, and start talking with them," says Madeline Haug Penna, coordinator of orientation/community service and assistant director of new student services. "Even at meals, when sometimes the orientation leaders will sit together, Leyda would find the people who were alone and sit and eat and talk with them. She's very selfless. She even stayed overnight in the residence halls with them."

Having worked on and off for years in her family's restaurants and for Bank Atlantic as an intern, as well as for the Office of Human Resources, Su Ham is no stranger to hard work and responsibility. Even her current status as undergraduate student carries more responsibility than most. She serves as both a teaching assistant and research assistant for a professor in organic chemistry. She meets her college and personal expenses with scholarships and federal aid as well as with her part-time work at NSU.

SGA is another area where Su Ham serves. For the past year, she has served as a Commuter Senator. "I wanted to provide a better voice for commuters in Student Government," she says. "I wanted to improve on complaints I'd heard over the years about communication, especially for commuter students who don't hear about things on campus until it's too late sometimes." Her major efforts have created two large events this year to get commuter students involved. "For both events, I was able to obtain food donations from more than five restaurants and coordinated efforts with local auto service shops to provide students with service coupons," she says. "Both events allowed students and even faculty and staff to meet and talk about their concerns while enjoying the food." She says serving on SGA has taught her much about NSU. "I should have done SG sooner, because I have learned so much about the school, the staff and students. Now I know why a lot of things are the way they are and I can really be a voice in helping to change them. It's been a great experience."

A story Dr. Williams tells about Su Ham shows her true spirit: "N.A.T.U.R.E. has held a series of coffee-house lectures over the past two years, and Leyda has been the driving force behind the details, making contacts and such. She is always the first to arrive and the last to leave. But when it comes to introducing the speakers or making announcements, she always passes off to her [group] members. I used to think it was shyness, but upon further reflection, I realized she is truly one who adheres to the idea that people can do amazing things together when nobody cares who gets the credit. I realized when reflecting on her that having a servant's heart is not timely or trendy, it is a way of life. That's Leyda." SR

Contact Su Ham at suhaml@nova.edu