Making a difference around the NMU and Marquette Community

~Make a Difference Day 2008 Photos~

NMU Volunteer Center

Every year thousands of NMU students help make NMU and Marquette a better place to call home. By donating their time and efforts to rake yards, raise money for a good cause, donate blood and collect food for the hungry, students are making a difference in the lives of countless community members every year. 

The Volunteer Center at NMU was formed in 1992 to provide a link between the Marquette community and Northern Michigan University, and is always looking for new students and organizations who are interested in volunteering.

This year's Calendar of Events for the Volunteer Center is filling up quickly and there are tons of opportunities for you to get involved. There are dozens of different volunteer opportunities that fit everyone's interests as well!

For more information about how you can get involved and volunteer within the Marquette community, check out the Volunteer Center's website or talk to your RA about getting your house and hall volunteering!

Superior Edge

Superior Edge began in 2006 as a program with the intentions of combining community engagement, diversity awareness, leadership development and real-world experience into one life-changing program.

The Superior Edge program consists of four “edges”

• Citizenship – Become an engaged, involved citizen
• Diversity – Develop sensitivity and awareness of global and domestic diversity issues
• Leadership – Become a competent, ethical, and effective leader
• Real World – Relate classroom theory to workplace practice in real-world settings

To complete an edge, students document 100 hours of relevant activities/ experiences and write a reflection paper articulating what they have learned through the process.

After completing an edge, a Student Enrichment Transcript documents each edge.  The Student Enrichment Transcript gets sent out with a student's academic transcript.  If students finish all four edges, they get the distinction of having the Superior Edge.

It's easy to become involved with Superior Edge and it is open to everyone at NMU. Students work to complete edges at their own pace and are responsible for logging their own hours.  To get started with Superior Edge, students attend a one-hour orientation session where criteria for the program is explained and they receive instruction on logging their hours.