ASU Mary Lou Fulton teachers college graduate, Pierre Rivera, shows off his diploma and his commitment to national service at last year's convocation ceremony.

Pierre Rivera has good reason to be proud. He not only received a gold-medal education at ASU, earning his bachelor's degree in education from Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, but he gave back to the community through the 450 service hours he performed as an AmeriCorps member. In so doing, Pierre gained "real world" experience addressing common educational challenges facing students at under-resourced schools or with special needs and, in addition to sporting that great AmeriCorps medallion at Convocation, he earned nearly $1500 in the form of a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award.