Andrea Ward, a senior majoring in biochemistry & cellular and molecular biology, will visit the White House Monday, Sept. 8, as part of receiving the Presidential Volunteer Service Award for her 4,000-plus volunteer hours at Mercy Ministries, a home for troubled girls.

The award was created by President George W. Bush in 2002 to motivate individuals to become involved in volunteering around the country. Ward was nominated for the award in 2004. The USA Freedom Corps only offers the award to individuals who have volunteered 4,000 hours or for two years. 

Ward moved to Tennessee from Kansas after high school to work with Mercy Ministries, a home for troubled girls and women ages 13-28 who deal with problems such as eating disorders, sexual abuse and unplanned pregnancies. She volunteered full-time for a year and continued her work weekly. She also took a nine-month break to do various missionary work in Australia and Malaysia.

"I am pursuing this degree because it motivates me to serve in a greater capacity," she said. "My ideal occupation would be to work with Mercy again and work with the residents and be their physician."  

This will not be Ward's first time meeting Bush. On Aug. 30, 2004, Ward waited alongside the likes of Sen. John McCain to greet the president as he stepped off Air Force One in Nashville, Tenn. to bestow her the award.