ETSU celebrates three Harold Love Award winners
Leah Loveday, Dr. Felipe Fiuza and Natalie White pose with their Harold Love Awards.
East Tennessee State University’s Dr. Felipe Fiuza, Natalie White and Leah Loveday are among the recipients of the 2025 Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Awards.
The Harold Love Awards, administered by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), recognize the community service of students, faculty and staff at Tennessee colleges and universities. The program is named for the late Rep. Harold Love, who was instrumental in passing the legislation which created the awards in 1991.
As an assistant professor of Spanish and the director of the Language and Culture Resource Center at ETSU, Fiuza has overseen the provision of vital language translation services to a broad range of organizations, including health care facilities, schools, businesses and government entities. His efforts have been particularly instrumental in bridging the communication gap between the Spanish-speaking community and local institutions.
Fiuza’s work came to the forefront during the devastating floods in Unicoi County and the surrounding region caused by Hurricane Helene, when he served as a translator between emergency personnel and affected families.
Natalie White is an ETSU Roan Scholar from Nickelsville, Virginia, and is majoring in health sciences. She is president of the Pre-dental Chapter and social media chair of Cure ETSU.
White has accumulated over 500 hours of community service in her initiative “Smile with NAT,” including 200 hours while treating 500 dental patients in the Appalachian region of Virginia and Tennessee. For her efforts, she was named Outstanding Volunteer with Miles for Smiles. Also a published author, White wrote “Tony the Tooth,” which she shares in elementary schools to encourage healthy smiles.
Leah Loveday is a Roan Scholar from Sevierville and a community health major. She has interned with RISE, a non-profit organization devoted to sexual education in Northeast Tennessee. She recently co-authored an article in a leading public health journal and won third place in the 2023 ETSU Elevates Pitch competition for PEER-iod Education, a program providing puberty education to Appalachian youth ages 8 to 12.
Loveday was also named a 2025 Truman Scholar, a prestigious honor awarded to college juniors who demonstrate exceptional leadership and a commitment to public service.
Love Award recipients serve as ambassadors for community service among the diverse higher education communities in Tennessee. Each recipient receives a $1,000 cash prize.
From Truman Scholars to Fulbright Scholars, ETSU students, faculty and staff often earn competitive grants and fellowships.
East Tennessee State University was founded in 1911 with a singular mission: to improve the quality of life for people in the region and beyond. Through its world-class health sciences programs and interprofessional approach to health care education, ETSU is a highly respected leader in rural health research and practices. The university also boasts nationally ranked programs in the arts, technology, computing, and media studies. ETSU serves approximately 14,000 students each year and is ranked among the top 10 percent of colleges in the nation for students graduating with the least amount of debt.
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