What’s it like at to live at Wake Forest? One way to find out is to look at the many ways students, faculty and staff build community. Its people are committed to making the world a better place on campus, within the community and beyond. Check out these highlights from the past school year.

From Columbia, S.C., to San Diego, Calif., Wake Forest alumni joined forces with their local communities May 31-June 3 to restore parks, plant fruits and vegetables, and collect food for the hungry. The national push to give back to the various places Demon Deacons call home was part of the second annual Pro Humanitate Days or 4Good.

A senator, a humanitarian and a banker received the University’s 2013 Distinguished Alumni Award in recognition of their extraordinary service to Wake Forest, their field, humanity or society. Richard Burr (’78), Jane Cage (’78) and Graham Denton Jr. (’67) were honored. Read their individual stories and watch tribute videos.

This year’s Wake ‘N Shake event, a student-run 12-hour dance marathon to benefit the Brian Piccolo Cancer Fund Drive, raised a record $125,722.57. More than 1,300 students, faculty and staff “danced for a difference” in memory of someone they have loved who has been affected by cancer.

Named to the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the University is one of 28 schools in North Carolina to be recognized for engaging its students, faculty and staff in meaningful service that achieves measurable results.

Danielle Gallant, a senior sociology major, traveled to India to lead a group of 10 students volunteering in the University’s City of Joy program. She shares her reasons for going and what she learned from working with the late Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity.

Students create new event traditions at Wake Forest, celebrating fun and service, while still honoring tried and true autumn happenings.

The “Big Tent,” a public art project conceived by Wake Forest art professor David Finn, provided a safe space for students at Mt. Tabor High School to talk openly about ethnic and cultural differences.

Bentrice Jusu, a senior studio arts major, not only creates socially and economically conscious documentaries, but she also runs her own nonprofit organization to benefit underprivileged teenagers and the arts in her hometown of Trenton, N.J.

The 24th annual Project Pumpkin brought more than 1,400 Winston-Salem area children to campus for an afternoon of fall celebrations. Sponsored by the Volunteer Service Corps, Project Pumpkin is one of WFU’s largest community events.