ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ

Four people who make a difference in the lives of others were honored Monday by ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ in the 16th annual “Hometown Heroes” awards ceremony on campus. Freshmen class officers selected the honorees for “making a positive difference by touching lives and strengthening their home communities” in a program sponsored by the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life.

Eden Avraham-Katz, a sophomore from Greensboro, N.C., has received a 2009-2010 Grinspoon Israel Advocacy Internship, making ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ one of 35 campuses nationwide to host a paid intern who will help coordinate pro-Israel programs in the coming year.

ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ Hillel and its director, Nancy Luberoff, have been selected to take part in the Small and Mighty Campuses of Excellence II, an initiative sponsored by Hillel international to enhance experiences for Jewish students on smaller campuses.

The Rev. David K. Olson, M.Div., has joined the affiliated staff of the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life as the chaplain of ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s LEAF Community. LEAF (Lutherans, Episcopalians and Friends), a voluntary religious and social fellowship among ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ students and staff, began in September 2007 under the leadership of Olivia Hubert-Allen ’09 and Zackary George ’11.

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh will be at ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ on Saturday to celebrate Mass before blessing the new home of the university’s Catholic Newman Center, now housed in the Holland House on South Campus.