Seton Hill honors Steele Eckenrode for community service

A 22 year-old Mt. Lebanon man has been named Seton Hill University’s 2019 winner of the school’s Presidential Award for Service.

Seton Hill University President Mary C. Finger presented the award to Steele Eckenrode, a senior Business Administration – Entrepreneurial Studies major, during Honors Convocation on Friday.

The award recognizes a graduating senior each fall and spring for their exemplary service to the community and to the university.

Seton Hill officials said Eckenrode’s list of community service activities is varied.

He helped design a business plan for Community Living and Support Services (CLASS), an organization that offers services and fosters community inclusion for people of varying abilities. He also designed logos and provided volunteer graphic design services for programs of the South Hills Interfaith Movement (SHIM), an organization that provides food, clothing, and services to people in need in Pittsburgh’s southern suburban neighborhoods.

And he volunteered with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), an organization that trains volunteers to advocate for children involved in Family Court proceedings. He serves on CASA’s Inclusiveness and Diversity committee

“Steele Eckenrode has demonstrated exemplary commitment to Seton Hill University and to the local, national, and global communities through his extraordinary volunteer work,” Finger said. “Steele consistently lives his values and offers his leadership in service to others and is well-deserving of the President’s Award for Service.”

Eckenrode received his business degree and a certificate in graphic design, at commencement May 11.