Service. I would say this is the most important honors pillar out of the three. Service is defined as being the action of helping or doing something for others and that hits home for myself and many of my honors colleagues. Many of us have participated in different service projects in our hometowns, through Longwood, or just with their small group of friends.

During my first few days at Longwood, we had the honors retreat which involved one day of community service. During this day we went to a horse farm that helps disabled kids with their therapy. On this particular day they split us up into different groups to help clean up around the farm, and my group got to clean the stalls and put mulch down. At first, I thought what is the point of this and that I would get nothing out of it, but that day changed my entire perspective on how service can impact one’s life.

During those few hours, I learned that community service does not always have to be a boring day with no outcome. I learned that by doing this small amount of cleaning how much of an impact I can make on someone else’s life. This experience has changed how I view service and I hope to participate in many other service projects at Longwood University.