A priest who has been helping the victims of the Berkeley balcony collapse said he had been changed by the experience.
Father Brendan McBride founded the Irish Immigration and Pastoral centre in San Francisco, and is set to be honoured for his efforts to help those affected by the tragedy in June, in which six Irish students died and seven others were injured.
Fr McBride is one of 10 people who will receive the Presidential Distinguished Service Award later this year.
Father McBride said he had been deeply affected by the ordeal of those caught up in the Berkeley incident.
"When you look at the families and their loss, I feel a loss too, because I feel very much a part of those families," he said.
"Of course it has changed me because my heart goes out to them, and I think about them all the time."