Margaret C. Handy, the retiring assistant to the Senior Tutor at Dudley House, was honored twice yesterday for her more than 25 years of service, first by the Undergraduate Council and then by Dudley residents.

The council gave Handy its Lifetime Service Award. An award for service is usually given annually in conjunction with the Levenson award for teaching, but this is the first time the council has given an award for lifetime service.

"We like to recognize people at Harvard who make life a little nicer," Erica A. Farmer '01 said. "We made a special award for her."

Farmer and Paul A. Gusmorino '01, who are members of the Student Affairs Committee, presented a plaque to Handy during Sunday brunch at the Dudley Co-op on Sacramento Street.

After the council presentation, Dudley residents led Handy outside to the front yard of the second house on Mass. Ave., where they had planted a sapling tree in her honor.

"I like it. I love it!" exclaimed Handy when she saw the Green Mountain sugar maple. "It's my very own tree!"

The students also plan to make a sign to go inside the house that explains Handy's contribution to Dudley.

Handy has been helping students at the Co-op for nearly three decades, students said. As assistant to the Allston Burr Senior Tutor, she manages the office and all student affairs.