Noni Niels Nielsen '97
(Awarded 2012)

This year's Alumni Service Award recipient takes seriously Davidson College's Statement of Purpose and its commitment to helping students develop "humane instincts and disciplined and creative minds for lives of leadership and service." Her own life of leadership and service faithfully includes service to alma mater.

Despite a demanding job and the time she dedicates to her cherished nieces and nephews, she makes Davidson a priority. Her volunteer roles are many - as one staff member said, "You are possibly the greatest volunteer I have!" She has served as an Annual Fund class chair and on the Leadership Council through her work with the Young Alumni Ne Ultra program. She mentors and develops the next generation of leaders through Career Services, often helping them secure jobs with her own employer, Bank of America. She aids the Alumni Office by opening her home for gatherings and welcoming new students to the Davidson family. She serves on the Board of Visitors, returning to campus regularly to share her advice and insights with other Davidson leaders to help shape the future of this institution. And finally, she supports an important campus initiative, The Davidson Trust, with a scholarship she created in honor of her parents.

A recipient of the Max Jackson Award in Art History upon graduation, the citation read, she "is unwilling to settle for simplistic solutions. She demands much of herself." We, her alma mater, are grateful for the high standards to which she holds us all. She encourages us to always look for new ideas and never to settle for the status quo.

On her college application, in response to the question regarding her contribution to the Davidson community, she said, "I feel I have much to give, and that Davidson College has much to give in return." For all that you have given to alma mater, for your loyalty and contagious enthusiasm, and for your willingness to lead and be an active member of this family, the Davidson College Alumni Association honors you, Noni Niels Nielsen, with the 2012 Alumni Service Award, on the occasion of your 15th Reunion.