Lewis William Silverman
President's Award Recipient
Lewis Silverman, who was born in Queens, New York, spent 39 years of active and reserve duty in the U.S. Military – first in the Coast Guard and later in the Army Reserves. At age 73, he enrolled at VPCC in summer 2021 to earn an Associate of Applied Science in Automotive Technology. He is currently an adjunct professor in the College’s Automotive Technology department. For the 2023-23 academic year, he served as president of Phi Theta Kappa and president of Student Veterans of America, Peninsula chapter. He was also a member of the Advisory Council on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Culture, and a Student Ambassador. He volunteers at VPCC’s food pantry and clothes closet. He also has been a longtime volunteer firefighter and has been a member of Newport News’ Civilian Emergency Response Team (CERT) since 2019, and a One City Marathon volunteer for the past three years.