Malta's Arnold named Top Volunteer

Nicole Arnold, who graduated from Malta High School in 2012, was recently named Northern State University's (South Dakota) Student Volunteer of the Year for her dedication to many projects in the school's area.

"We were really excited to see the number of nominations come in this year for the 28th annual awards," said Clayton Kolb, NSU director of student involvement and leadership. "It is our involved students, faculty and staff who dedicate so much of their free time to these groups and events that make Northern State University so special and a great community!"

Ninety people attended the awards ceremony, held in the NSU Student Center Centennial Rooms. The event honors individual students, student clubs and organizations, and club/organization advisors who excel in leadership and engagement throughout campus.

Anyone on campus may nominate individuals or groups for the awards, and winners are selected by a committee.

Arnold, a sophomore who is working toward an Art Education B.A. with a minor in sports coaching at NSU, is the daughter of Robert and Kristy Arnold of Malta. She said that following graduation she aspires to be an art teacher at the middle school level and hopefully coach cross country or swimming.

"I helped coach swimming in Malta for four years, I coached (swimming) in Sobey last year and I am coaching in Glasgow this year," Arnold said. "I've been all around the region."

Arnold was a member of the Malta Swim Team starting at age eight and continued to compete all the way through high school. While attending MHS, Arnold also participated in cross county and track and in her freshman year at NSU competed in all three sports.

Arnold said that her participation in multiple projects led to her being named Student Volunteer of the Year. Among about a half dozen organization that Arnold is a part of, she is also the president of the Art Club, she volunteers at the local Humane Society every weekend and she works with a nonprofit organization named Empty Bowls which is dedicated to raising awareness about the issue of hunger in the state and across the world.

"We create bowls on pottery wheels and then a soup feed is held and people can donate to buy the bowls the soup is served in," Arnold said. "The money goes toward helping different local organizations."

Arnold said that her voluteerism started at MHS where she was a member of Key Club and other organizations. She said she saw others donating their time in Malta and was inspired to do so as well.

"I just wanted to give back to the community who gave so much to me in Malta," she said. "That just carried over to this community."

When not donating her time to help others, Arnold spends a lot of her time at school helping the NSU Lady Wolves Track and Field and Cross Country teams. On Friday, as she talked to the PCN on the phone, Arnold was getting ready to run the steeplechase at the NSIC Outdoor Championship in Sioux Falls, S.D.

"I run the steeplechase tomorrow," she said. "I used to be a distance runner and my coaches wanted to see how I could do in it. I guess I did pretty well."

Though Arnold's time from the steeplechase at the NSIC on Saturday wasn't posted on the team website as of Tuesday morning, the former M-ette did post a time of 11:27.11 at the Kip Janvrin Open, a personal record for her in the event finishing first among 18 competitors (the steeplechase is an obstacle race where runners jump hurdles and splash through pools of water.) Arnold also throws the javelin for the Lady Wolves.

The things Arnold misses most about living in Phillips County is the small town atmosphere and the comfort of knowing most of the people who live here.

"I'll be home in the end of May and I'm really excited to see everyone," Arnold said.