Nansemond-Suffolk Academy graduate Carly Edwards has received an Aspire! Award from Virginia Tech, which recognizes self-understanding and integrity.

Edwards, a senior who is majoring in business marketing mana-gement, with a minor in leadership and social change, has taken on roles as a residential leadership community intern, orientation leader and assistant, Hokie ambassador and Hokie camp counselor.

“Carly has a teachable spirit — a strong desire to learn that is motivated by her intuition and experiences as an influential student leader,” her nominator said in a statement.

While supervising a team of sophomore marketing interns last semester, Edwards honed her talent for considering each individual’s strengths and weaknesses, the statement said.

“I always strive to grow as a person through creating meaningful experiences,” Edwards said in the statement. “I like to push myself outside of my comfort zone to learn new things. Those experiences helped me to meet the students and faculty who have touched my life.”

Edward’s is a dean’s list and honors student who is also active in her sorority and is on the executive committee of The Big Event, a student-run community service effort.

She plans to apply her skills to higher education during a graduate program for student affairs next fall.

This semester she is undertaking an independent study exploring positive psychology, curiosity, and the millennial generation, to better understand how collegiate programs can support and serve future students.