Here’s what Service means to me…
From a young age, I was always involved in community service. My parents always tried to instill a strong work ethic into my life and always encouraged me to give back to my community. In my opinion, service is more about giving your time towards an effort in order to reach a certain goal, and the monetary value of the goal is not as important. Simple gestures and acts of service have a value that can’t be given a price tag. In the past, I have been a member of a club that focuses around completing service projects and promotes others to also take part. I have also received several awards and scholarships in recognition of my service to the community. These rewards and recognition has been nice, but seeing the impact that the service projects have had on the community is the real reward in the situation.
Another key aspect of service that I enjoy is getting others involved in the community. After all, one person can’t accomplish a certain goal in certain situation, but one person can help recruit others to help them accomplish the task at hand. When joining together as a community, to help a larger part of the community, the core ideals of service can truly be seen.
Service within the Honors Community
I have participated in several acts of service while being a part of the Honors community. My first experiences were during the Honors Retreat; helping at the horse farm was definitely the most memorable experience, as this is also where I really began to make friends that shared my love of service. Throughout the year, I became more involved in several service project with honors. Another favorite of mine was hanging with prospective students when they spent the weekend and taking them to Late Night Rec. I also loved giving prospective students tours of campus and showing them my favorite parts of Longwood and Honors. Another highlight was doing the coat check at the Gala for the LCVA; this was one of those acts of service that was just a simple gesture, but had a real impact and was greatly appreciated.
I can’t wait to be an Honors Mentor in the fall and I am looking forward to continuing being able to give back to the Farmville, Longwood, and Honors communities.