College of Saint Mary is pleased to announce that its Operation SMART® program and student Hannah Thompson, a sophomore occupational therapy major from Falls City, Neb., have both been selected to receive a Nebraska First Lady’s Outstanding Community Service Award.

Operation SMART® is being honored in the “Outstanding Community Partnership in Education” category, and Thompson is being honored in the “Outstanding Service-Learning Student Leader” category.

The Nebraska First Lady’s Outstanding Community Service Awards are presented annually in recognition of distinguished volunteer service across a wide variety of categories. This year’s award-winners will be recognized at a luncheon on April 28 at the UNO Thompson Alumni Center.

Started in 1992, Operation SMART® (Science, Math and Related Technology) is a program presented in conjunction with Girls, Inc. where CSM teacher-education students prepare hands-on lessons for girls from low-performing Omaha schools. The young girls come to the CSM campus twice a week to learn in the University’s classrooms and computer labs, and the CSM teachers-to-be hone their skills while helping the girls develop confidence and an aptitude for math, science and technology.

Thompson is being recognized for her leadership in the student group, DUO (Do Unto Others) and for participation in CSM’s service-learning trip to Laredo, Texas, in March 2011. She regularly donates her time and energy to planning community-service events and giving back to others – inclusive of organizing a 5K race to benefit Mercy Beyond Borders, which supports a girls’ school in the Sudan, and a concert to benefit TOMS Shoes. Thompson serves as an inspiration to her fellow classmates with her enthusiasm and dedication to service.