Olivia Duffield '20 honored for service to the community

Olivia Duffield '20 has been recognized for outstanding leadership and service by North Carolina Campus Compact, a statewide network of colleges and universities with a shared commitment to civic engagement. Duffield is a recipient of the network’s Community Impact Award, which honors one student leader at each school.

​Duffield, a junior majoring in biochemistry, is one of 18 students selected by their campus for the annual honor, joining more than 250 college students recognized by the network since the award was first presented in 2006.

As director of Elon’s Habitat for Humanity campus chapter, Duffield has demonstrated skillful attention to detail, remarkable preparation, and a knack for improving organizational processes that result in better service and greater impact. She has made volunteer sign-up and management systems more efficient and reliable, created an “education coordinator” position to spearhead campus outreach, and started a new fundraising partnership with Elon’s Interfraternity Council.

An inclusive leader, Duffield has built relationships with local Habitat staff, future Habitat homeowners, and nearly 150 Elon student chapter members. Beyond Habitat, Duffield serves as secretary of Alpha Phi Omega, as a member of Elon Volunteers! executive board, and as the office manager of topics around the theme: “The Power of Youth Civic Courage. She is originally from Philadelphia.

North Carolina Campus Compact is a collaborative network of 37 colleges and universities committed to educating students for civic and social responsibility, partnering with communities for positive change, and strengthening democracy. The N.C. Campus Compact state office fosters connections between campuses, shares best practice information and resources, recognizes outstanding work, and champions civic and community engagement in higher education. 

Duffield was honored at the Compact’s annual CSNAP student conference, held in late 2018 at Fayetteville State University. The event brought together more than 150 students and staff from 23 campuses in the network. In addition to awards and networking opportunities, the conference included student-led workshops, panel discussions, and plenary sessions on diverse community engagement.

Founded in 2002 and hosted by Elon University, the North Carolina network is an affiliate of national Campus Compact, which claims 1,000 member schools representing nearly 2 million college students.