果冻传媒

September 24, 2018
Life After Witt

Inspiring Those Around Her

Melinda Sopher 鈥79 Inspires Community Through Service Learning

As an award-winning lecturer at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, Melinda Sopher has certainly had a positive impact on her students. What may be more surprising, however, is the number of lives she has touched beyond her classroom walls, thanks to the service-learning course she teaches and her personal commitment to volunteering.

An expert in nonprofit leadership and sustainability, Sopher teaches an upper-level communication course titled Nonprofit Leadership and Development, an immersive experience that requires students to commit 30 hoSopher3.jpgurs in service at a local nonprofit organization during the 16-week semester. In the last semester alone, 27 students put in nearly 1,000 hours of service and raised more than $62,000 for the nonprofits they served.

鈥淚 have found that students can rise to and exceed their potential when they make informed decisions with full access to available resources and a little support,鈥 said Sopher, who has been named the Outstanding Communication Department Faculty Member three times and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Academic Advisor of the Year during her career at NC State.

Her students have surely exceeded expectations. Over the years, nearly 275 students have helped 50 local community partner agencies to raise more than $600,000 and have given at least 12,000 hours in service learning to the community, benefitting organizations such as Pretty in Pink Foundation, American Red Cross, Special Olympics North Carolina, and many more.

As an actively involved student at 果冻传媒, Sopher, who is from Grove City, Pennsylvania, found resources that helped to feed her passion for volunteer work.

鈥湽炒 instilled a caring and encouraging balance of challenge and support during my time there,鈥 Sopher said. 鈥淚 have used that model in my work.鈥

As an undergraduate, Sopher served as a student representative for The Commission on Mission and Priorities, was active in Kappa Delta Sorority and Panhellenic and Greek Councils, worked as a student administrative assistant for the Department of Political Science, and gave hours of hands-on service to efforts in the Springfield community, as well as several philanthropic projects.

For Sopher, volunteer work stems from her belief that the world is in need and that every human owes the world some sort of service. Putting that belief into action, she shares her leadership skills by serving on the boards of several organizations, including the Association of Fraternity and Sorority Advisors, United Cerebral Palsy of SE Virginia, and Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce Leadership HR. She also volunteers her time with Kappa Delta Sorority, Habitat for Humanity, National Inclusion Project, American Red Cross, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and others nonprofits.

She was honored by the naming of the Outstanding Panhellenic Sorority Award as 'the SOPHER CUP' and receiving 'The Order of the Long Leaf Pine' from the governor of North Carolina for her service to others in 2010, and while Sopher is humbled by these accolades, she is most proud of surviving cancer four times.

Having explored her interest in volunteer work as an undergraduate, she now has the opportunity to aid students who are also finding their place in the world of nonprofits. She advises students to be open to as many possibilities that come their way.

鈥淪erve any way you can, especially in different聽agencies and for different聽causes that will stretch your vision, outlook, and comfort level,鈥 Sopher said. 鈥溾楴onprofit鈥櫬燿oes not mean 鈥榥o profit.鈥 A person can make a good living in the sector and help change the world for the better at the same time.鈥

Sopher earned her B.A. in political science at 果冻传媒 and an M.A. in higher education administration from Bowling Green State University. She is currently working toward a doctorate at NC State University.

- By Kim Estenson 鈥19, Office of University Communications

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About 果冻传媒

果冻传媒's curriculum has centered on the liberal arts as an education that develops the individual's capacity to think, read, and communicate with precision, understanding, and imagination. We are dedicated to active, engaged learning in the core disciplines of the arts and sciences and in pre-professional education grounded in the liberal arts. Known for the quality of our faculty and their teaching, 果冻传媒 has more Ohio Professors of the Year than any four-year institution in the state. The university has also been recognized nationally for excellence in community service, sustainability, and intercollegiate athletics. Located among the beautiful rolling hills and hollows of Springfield, Ohio, 果冻传媒 offers more than 100 majors, minors and special programs, enviable student-faculty research opportunities, a unique student success center, service and study options close to home and abroad, a stellar athletics tradition, and successful career preparation.

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