ITHACA, N.Y. -- At its seventh annual convocation, March 1, The Cornell Tradition awarded its first annual Cornell Tradition Community Recognition Award to Ithacan Mimi Melegrito.

The Cornell Tradition is an alumni-endowed fellowship program at Cornell University that recognizes and rewards outstanding students dedicated to work, service and scholarship. This past fall, the Student Advisory Council of Cornell Tradition created the new award to recognize and honor an Ithaca area person who has demonstrated a strong commitment to community service and/or leadership. An awards committee solicited nominations from community agencies of candidates who exemplify the Cornell Tradition ideal of improving their community through dedication to service. In December, a selection committee composed of members from both the Cornell and Ithaca communities evaluated all of the nominations and selected Melegrito as the first recipient of the Cornell Tradition Community Recognition Award.

During the past 20 years, Melegrito has taken on countless roles in service to the Ithaca community. She has worked with the Ithaca Youth Bureau for 19 years and currently helps ensure meaningful and supportive matches between young people and adults through the One-to-One program. In 1994, she became the first woman president of Ithaca Kiwanis and, two years ago, was the founding president of Cayuga Kiwanis.

One of her nominators, Julie Albertson, said: "Through Kiwanis, Mimi has formed a community of strong members with diverse professions, ethnic backgrounds and beliefs. Our differences strengthen our commitment and add a deeper base from which we can grow and help others in Ithaca."

Melegrito also has been instrumental is founding several other service organizations, including a multicultural after-school program and various senior citizen outreach programs. She also helped in chartering a Key Club at Spencer Elementary School and the founding of Circle K clubs at Cornell and Ithaca College.Melegrito's second nominator, Andrea Eaton, summed up her contributions: "Many people can claim to be involved in many programs, but none that I know of can claim the depth of commitment that Mimi has demonstrated."

At the March 1 Cornell Tradition ceremony, Melegrito was presented with a certificate and a donation of $1,000 to the service agency of her choice. In addition, her name will be placed on a plaque to be displayed in the office of The Cornell Tradition in perpetuity.

Established in 1982 through an anonymous gift of $7 million, The Cornell Tradition awards 600 fellowships each year to Cornell undergraduates who demonstrate significant work experience, make meaningful contributions to campus and/or community service, and maintain a high level of academic achievement. Each year, Tradition fellows collectively donate about 75,000 hours of community service and well over 140,000 hours of work to Ithaca, Cornell and to their local communities.

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