Cornell senior Jonathan Feldman, a government major, has taken public service to another level altogether.

In January, Feldman, a Cornell United Way campaign cabinet member, announced the establishment of the Stephen E. Garner Summers of Service Scholarships. Garner, who died in 2006, was president and chief executive officer of the Tompkins Trust Co. and a United Way campaign chairman and board chairman.

The scholarships will support three seniors from local high schools who will receive $1,500 toward work for a United Way agency over the summer, starting this year. Feldman named one of the three scholarships in honor of Gary Stewart, Cornell's assistant director of university and community relations. Feldman also announced that he will provide $1,500 out of his own pocket toward the Stewart scholarship -- every year. "Gary has always listened to my extravagant ideas, encouraging my dreams but assisting in resetting them in reality," said Feldman during an address to the United Way boards of Cornell and Tompkins County in January. "His office has been a space for laughs and tears, for jokes and schemes, for success and for failure, but most importantly it has been a place for growth."

Stewart said he was humbled by the recognition.

"Jonathan's one of many Cornell students I know who work hard every day, usually under the radar, in important volunteer initiatives throughout Tompkins County," Stewart said. "I feel fortunate to have had the chance to collaborate with him and other students on various local efforts. Working with Jonathan has been a lot of fun."

The remaining two scholarships are being supported by anonymous donors this summer, and Feldman, in cooperation with Cornell, is establishing an endowment to ensure the future of the Garner Summers of Service Program.

To get the endowment going, the Tompkins Trust Co. is sponsoring a fundraiser at the Cornell men's basketball game against Yale on Friday, Feb. 22. The Triad Foundation (a local philanthropic agency created by Roy H. Park Jr. and his children) is pledging $1 for every member of the Lynah Faithful who attend the Cornell hockey team's match against Harvard on March 1. A third corporate sponsor is being sought for a similar contribution toward the Cornell men's lacrosse team game against Syracuse in April. Feldman said he is confident one will be found.

Stephen Golding, Cornell's Samuel W. Bodman Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration, and chairman of the university's 2007 United Way campaign, said he feels "very fortunate to have had an opportunity to get to know Jonathan and to have worked with him this past year.

"He is an individual who puts community before self and service before personal gain," said Golding. "Watching him manage the 2007 student United Way campaign has been a reminder about the kind of students we attract to Cornell and their potential, once they leave the institution, to have a positive impact on our society and the communities in which they live, work and raise their families."