Doing 995 hours of service and raising $56,000 for your community; imagine accomplishing all this, along with schoolwork and involvement in extracurricular activities, in high school. This describes the last four years of Mikayla Savell-Flott’s life.
Savell-Flott, an Arts & Sciences freshman, received the Governor’s Points of Light Award for the youth division on Feb. 15 at the Warner Chamber at the state capitol in Lincoln, Neb. She is the first Creighton student to receive this award.
This award is given to those who show a commitment to community service through leadership and a commitment to involve others in the process of serving the community.
Savell-Flott is also the first graduate of Millard West High School to receive this award. Throughout her career at Millard West, she raised $7,515 for the school alone and received the National Honor Society Volunteer of the Year award. Of the funds Savell-Flott raised, $7,500 was specifically for the musical theatre department, as Savell-Flott was, and is still, involved in musical theatre.
She raised this money through arranging all occasion sing-a-grams, selling corsages for prom and homecoming, and setting up a merchandise booth with unique items that were sold to those who attended music or theatre events at the high school.
“Especially for me being from Omaha, it’s important to give back and show respect for your community,” Savell-Flott said. “If one person gives back to their community, it will influence other people to get involved”
She also participated in the Omaha Corporate Cup Run, which supports the American Heart and Lung Associations, volunteered at the Nebraska Humane Society and performed in “It’s All About the Music,” a musical that raised over $10,000 to rebuild the Little Sioux Boy Scout Ranch that was destroyed by a tornado. She also organized “Room-Makeovers” by collecting donations to renovate children’s rooms who had endured illness and crisis, raised money for United Way, provided food and coats for the Salvation Army, and delivered over 100 turkeys to the Open Door Mission and a trunk load of Christmas presents for their “Holiday Child.”
“Mikayla’s goal throughout life has been to make a difference,” Angela Flott, Mikayla’s mother, said. “She challenges her path to individuality by learning new ideas and sharing these ideas with others. Upon entering Creighton University, she came not only to learn but to teach.”
Savell-Flott is continuing to teach others through example on Creighton’s campus. She is a member of the Freshmen Leadership Program whose members have raised money for Precious Memories, a daycare for underprivileged children. Last semester she participated in weekly service at Completely Kids, and this semester she volunteers at the Children’s Respite Center where she spends most of her time playing with the kids.
“The people I’ve encountered are so inspiring,” Savell-Flott said. “I really love kids. I love working with kids. It makes me feel so fortunate for what I’ve grown up with. It really makes me want to give back. They make my day just as much as I make theirs.”
Her mother emphasizes what her service does for her life, not her résumé.
“For Mikayla, it is not about being able to put volunteer service items on her résumé, but rather it is about the feeling she gets when she has given to someone else in need,” Flott said.
Savell-Flott’s parents, grandparents and best friend, along with the chair of the Fine and Performing Arts Department at Creighton, Dr. Fred Hanna, were there to support her during the awards ceremony.