Mikell Reed Carroll ’99 to receive the Secretary of State Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad (SOSA) for her volunteer work in Croatia.
Mikell Reed Carroll '99. Photo from Facebook.
The American Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW), who gives out the award, selects the most exceptional volunteer efforts by Foreign Service employees and family members abroad. Mikell is one of seven 2020 SOSA awardees.
Lara Center, President of the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide, says “Mikell volunteered with the agency Refugee Aid Serbia through one of its facilities, The Workshop, where she led a donation drive in 2017 for items desperately needed by refugees in camps in the Western Balkans. Since then, Mikell has collected and personally delivered to Refugee Aid Serbia more than $10,000 in items needed by the refugee community, including educational materials, books, blankets and winter clothing.”
She goes on to say that “In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mikell organized ‘The Mask Project,’ in which volunteers joined together to make cloth masks for the local Embassy community. Mikell writes a weekly column in the Embassy newsletter, ‘Heart to Heart,’ providing information and practical tips on heart health. She started a weekly Embassy Walking Club to inspire Embassy employees to walk during their lunch hour to improve their health. For two years, she has also organized a ‘National Wear Red Day’ event at her post to raise awareness in the Embassy community about heart disease.”
Please join us in congratulating Mikell for all her hard work and efforts in serving others. She is one of many examples of alumni serving their communities. Congratulations Mikell!
About the SOSA for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad
Established in 1990, the Secretary of State (SOSA) award was originally supported and encouraged by then Secretary of State James Baker and his wife Susan Baker. The Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide organization (AAFSW) now administers the award through contributions from former Secretaries of States and others. For more information, visit https://www.aafsw.org/services/sosa/.
