“If serving is below you, leadership is beyond you.”

Though service is one of the three pillars of Longwood University’s Cormier Honors College (CHC), community service is not a CHC requirement. Students are instead provided ample opportunities to serve on campus and in the surrounding communities of Farmville and Prince Edward County throughout the academic year; they just have to take the initiative.

Service opportunities for all CHC scholars are provided during three retreats each academic year. First, on the week preceding each year’s Fall semester, the CHC hosts an Honors Leadership Retreat, where students engage in various activities ranging from eating at restaurants around Farmville to watching the sunset at High Bridge and navigating a high ropes course. Throughout the week, incoming Freshmen and upperclassmen mentors also participate extensively in service activities. During my Freshman year, for example, groups of CHC scholars traveled daily to volunteer at a local horse rescue in Buckingham, Virginia, where we cleaned stalls, painted barns, and landscaped around the farm.

The Honors Student Association (HSA) also sponsors one service retreat per semester at Longwood’s Hull Springs Farm in Montross, Virginia. In honor of Mr. Eddie Carrie Jr., the farm’s longtime groundskeeper, retreats are spent providing volunteer work in the surrounding, underserved Westmoreland County community. Service opportunities vary by semester; some students may volunteer at a local church, while others may visit a nursing home or animal shelter. Regardless, each retreat offers fantastic opportunities to give back to a community in need and bond with other CHC scholars.

HSA also offers multiple on-campus service opportunities throughout the year to benefit local organizations such as the Farmville Area Community Emergency Services (FACES) Food Pantry and Elwood’s Cabinet, an anonymous food pantry for students. All HSA officers are required to participate in these events, while members are provided service “points” for their participation.

At the end of the day, while community service is not required by the CHC, it is highly promoted, and students are consistently encouraged to uphold the pillar of service.