Student makes difference in community with class project

A student's fundraiser drew 238 people and raised more than $3,000 for a nursing home.

MADRID, Neb. – Bellevue University student Tabby Cornelius has made a big difference in her tiny western Nebraska community. The Madrid resident, a student in the Logistics Management  accelerated bachelor’s degree completion program, recently organized a fundraiser in this farming community that raised more than $3,000 for a local nursing home.

But Cornelius is quick to deflect any praise for her good deed.

“I don’t wanna be put on a pedestal,” she said. “I was just doing my homework.”

Cornelius is currently enrolled in the Kirkpatrick Signature Series, taking her classes at North Platte Community College. The “homework” she refers to is a community service project required of every Signature Series student. Last year, 2,400 students volunteered for more than 19,000 hours of community service.

For her project, Cornelius organized a lasagna dinner fundraiser and auction for the Golden Ours Convalescent Home to raise money for new songs books, improvements to the facility’s sound system, and a Nintendo Wii gaming system, which will encourage physical activity among the home’s resident’s.

Her goal was to raise $1,500. To date, she has raised $3,391 – which is even more impressive, considering only 3,200 live in the county.

“People really give of themselves out here, even during tough times,” Cornelius said.

Cornelius will earn her Bachelor of Science in Logistics Management this spring. She plans on putting her degree to good use on her family’s farming and ranching operation.