As director of the Lewis J. Burger Center for Student Leadership and Public Service at Bradley University, Sara O’Shea provides leadership for the Volunteer Network, which connects Bradley students with Peoria community agencies, and the Bradley Fellows program, which trains and prepares the top student leaders on campus. O’Shea advises TEAM Bradley, FISH philosophers, BUILD and RoadMarcs, which provide great character-building activities for Bradley students. She also developed and instructed the Introduction to Leadership Studies, Women in Leadership, Leadership with Authority and Experiential Leadership courses in Bradley’s leadership minor.
Last year alone, under O’Shea’s guidance, Bradley students volunteered more than 40,000 hours in the Peoria area and raised $175,000 for over 50 local charities. For the past three years, she has been nominated and awarded the Bradley University Student Organization Advisor of the Year Award, a true testimony of the respect and admiration she has gained from her students and the Bradley community as a whole. Last year, she was chosen as the Outstanding New Professional by the National Association for Student Affairs Professionals and was a recipient of WEEK’s 25 Women in Leadership Award for central Illinois.
In addition to her work at Bradley, O’Shea finds time to serve the community through various organizations. She is a board member for Crittenton Centers and event chair for its Festival of Trees fundraiser, co-chair of the American Cancer Society’s Annual Night of Hope Gala, president of the South-West Kiwanis Club, and Executive Officer Advisor for Sigma Kappa sorority.
O’Shea is committed to instilling in students the desire and drive to become great servant leaders. Not only does this positively affect central Illinois, but every community to which her students move after graduation. Building young people up to be engaged citizens who regularly volunteer in their communities is what O’Shea is passionate about, and she helps to achieve this every day on campus. iBi
