Twenty-five people at USC were celebrated Tuesday for making a difference.
USC's Sexual Assault and Interpersonal Violence office (SAVIP) honored members of the community who have made a positive impact in other peoples’ lives with the Stand Up Carolina Hero Awards.
The 25 award recipients were students, faculty, and staff of the university.
Jennifer Taylor, the program coordinator for SAVIP’s Bystander Intervention initiative hopes that these awards will encourage others to step up and help people in need, regardless of whether it results in being recognized for those actions.
“We’ve been doing this for 10 years, and the point of it is really to honor folks on campus ... who have kind of gone above and beyond in the service of others," Taylor said. "We really just want to make sure that people on campus feel appreciated for their efforts."
Graham "Callie" Wiggins, a fourth-year sport and entertainment management student, and Zachery Smith, a third-year statistics student, were both honored at the banquet. They were nominated by USCPD Cpl. Steve Immon for stopping to help an injured student until emergency responders could arrive at the scene.
“It’s an honor. I really appreciate it,” Smith said. “There's definitely a lesson to be learned in appreciating the heroism that goes on every day and the fact that at any given point, you could be in a room with heroes and not know it and to appreciate and value that."
Wiggins was thankful for the award but said she did not need the recognition.
“The whole goal of us helping him was never to get recognized, it was to save his life, so that's all that really mattered to us,” Wiggins said.
In addition to the recognition of this year’s heroes, the program featured speeches from Lyric Swinton, the student feature speaker, and Ben Roth, the keynote speaker. Swinton, a third-year sport and entertainment management student, spoke about her personal experience at USC and called the audience to action in unlocking their own potential to change the world. Roth, an assistant professor in the College of Social Work, focused on recognizing everyday heroes, not just those who do incredible and newsworthy acts.
Jason Halterman, the program coordinator for SAVIP’s Inclusive Prevention program, closed out by encouraging those in attendance to be active bystanders and help others.
“As we prepare to leave this room and go back to our day-to-day busy lives, I leave you with a simple charge," Halterman said. "Be well. Do good. Continue to be heroes for our Carolinian community."