Young Alum Earns Prestigious SUNY Award for Service

11/02/2015 

Ashlee Prewitt ’14 lived in Cortland for only a short amount of time, but the reminders of her meaningful work in the community continue.

The former political science major, who now resides in Endicott, N.Y., to pursue a master’s of public administration degree from Binghamton University, recently was awarded a prestigious scholarship from the SUNY Association of Council Members and College Trustees (ACT).

The honor recognizes a combination of academic excellence and community initiative in students who are nominated by their campus presidents. Only five students in the 64-campus SUNY system receive the $1,000 award, which also comes with an additional $250 donation for a charity of the recipient’s choice.

Prewitt chose Cortland Area Communities That Care (CACTC), a local not-for-profit that seeks to identify and address at-risk youth. She received her award Oct. 17 at the Gideon Putnam in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Ashlee Prewitt ’14

“I really felt like a lot of community members became my extended family,” said Prewitt, who moved to upstate New York from Oklahoma in 2012 and attended Tompkins Cortland Community College before graduating from SUNY Cortland. “Cortland is the type of place where people get to know you if you work hard to get involved and make a difference.

“It just felt like the community welcomed me with open arms. That made a huge impact on my education.”

Although she officially spent only a year and a half at the College, Prewitt made the most of her time on campus. She secured hundreds of volunteers and $10,000 in funding to put on the Big Event, a one-day project that cleaned up parts of the community last May. She also served as president of the College’s Non-Traditional Student Organization (NTSO) and gained valuable work experience in SUNY Cortland’s Research and Sponsored Programs Office.

Her plans for the future were shaped by those leadership roles. She credited mentors that included Amy Henderson-Harr, the College’s assistant vice president for research and sponsored programs, and Cheryl Hines, an academic advisor and coordinator of non-traditional student support.

“The way I understand it, it’s really difficult to choose the small group of students to receive (the SUNY ACT scholarship) because there are so many amazing students to pick from,” Prewitt said. “I was humbled just to be nominated by President Bitterbaum.

“It was a huge honor — both for me and for SUNY Cortland.”