Fairfield HS graduate earns Campus Compact honor at BVU

A Fairfield native was one of two Buena Vista University community leaders to have earned a prestigious award in Campus Compact Iowa's 2020 Engaged Campus Awards.

Wava Jarr, a BVU junior from Fairfield, earned the President's Student Leadership Award, joining Storm Laker Maria Garcia, a 2012 BVU graduate, who landed the Alumni Leadership Award.

'I am so proud of both Maria and Wava for the work they've done, and the work they continue to do, on behalf of others,” says BVU President Joshua Merchant. 'Through her role as a leader at work and across this region, Maria Garcia reaches those in need, and never forgets the people and the community she's serving. Wava Jarr continues to be a campus leader, a future educator whose vision stretches well beyond our borders. These award winners make us proud at BVU, proud to be a partner of Campus Compact, an organizational leader that knows all too well how seriously we at BVU take our mission, Education for Service.”

Jarr, an art education major, is set to graduate in May 2021. She's seeking a special education endorsement as well, aiming to focus on behavior.

One of Jarr's premier experiences as a BVU student came one year ago when she traveled on spring break to the Dominican Republic to participate in the University's Alternative Week of Offsite Learning (AWOL). While there, Jarr taught English Language Learners and began to formulate ways in which she could use her skills as an artist and art teacher across curricula.

Jarr is in the midst of creating a lighthouse mural featuring sensory areas such as sand and turf, allowing students to feel their way around the piece as they count lights.

'It's an interactive mural geared to benefit all students, but one that's applicable to children with autism,” says Jarr, a 2016 graduate of Fairfield High School. 'It is designed to have a calming effect for students.”

Jarr seeks to one day develop a sensory room with an emphasis on art. She recently talked about her ideas at the ACRES (American Council on Rural Special Education) National Conference for special education teachers and administrators in San Antonio.

In addition to participating in BVU's AWOL experiential learning quests, Jarr serves as president of Student MOVE (Mobilizing Outreach & Volunteer Efforts) on campus and has recently participated in planning for BVU's upcoming Buenafication Day tradition.

'We're considering a virtual volunteering effort where students and alums can make a different in their communities since nearly everyone is off-campus this semester,” Jarr says.

For Jarr, the decision to proceed with Buenafication Day was important. 'I love doing service. It's always been a part of me,” she says. 'It's very humbling to be recognized for the work by Iowa Campus Compact. Earning the honor makes me want to learn and grow even more in my service capabilities.”

Garcia, meantime, serves as program supervisor in the Behavioral Health Intervention Services Program for Lutheran Services in Iowa, working to supervise staffers in a geographic area stretching from Denison northward to Clay County, assisting social workers who work with children and families in developing skill-building interventions based on areas of need.