CONWAY,
Ark. (January 23, 2014) – Hendrix seniors Avery Drongowski and Zach Saul will
receive the Jewish Federation of Arkansas's Jane B. Mendel Tikkun Olam Award on
Saturday, Feb. 1, at 6:30 p.m. at the William J. Clinton Library in Little
Rock, Ark.
The
Tikkun Olam Award honors outstanding volunteers at Jewish organizations and
congregations throughout Arkansas. Tikkun Olam is a crucial concept in
Judaism. It translates as healing or repairing the world and requires that, as
a people, Jews have a duty to the world around them, to heal its ills and
repair its wrongs, so that the world is a better place for everyone.
Drongowski,
a senior psychology major from Royal Oak, Mich., and Saul, a senior psychology
major from Bellevue, Wash., are leaders in Hendrix Hillel, the Jewish student
organization on campus. Hendrix Hillel is supported in part by a
grant from the Jewish Federation of Arkansas.
“The
current Hillel officers voted to give Zach and Avery the award because of the
work and enthusiasm they put into making Hillel the vibrant organization it is
today,” said Hendrix English professor Dr. Dorian Stuber, who serves as faculty
advisor to the Hendrix Hillel group. “Most of the current officers were
introduced to Hillel through Zach and, especially, Avery. Some of them decided
to come to Hendrix after meeting with one or the other. Zach was especially
involved in bringing the band Paper Bird to Hendrix last year.”
“They
both value having an active Jewish student presence on campus, and under their
leadership Hendrix Hillel continued its tradition of openness and inclusiveness
to other faith traditions,” Stuber added.
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is a national leader in
engaged liberal arts and sciences education. For the sixth consecutive year,
Hendrix was named one of the country’s “Up and Coming” liberal arts colleges by
U.S. News and World Report. Hendrix is featured in the latest edition of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change
the Way You Think about Colleges,
as well as the 2014 Princeton Review’s The Best 378 Colleges, Forbes magazine's list of America's Top Colleges, and
the 2014 Fiske Guide to Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United
Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.