This semester, one of Delta Sigma Pi’s community service events was partnering with a new initiative called Elwood’s Cabinet. Spearheaded by one of our brothers, Megan Garrett, Elwood’s Cabinet is designed to be a food bank for Longwood Students in need, located across Ruffner Hall in the Wesley Campus Ministries. Open every monday from 6:30-9:00pm, any Longwood student can come and present their student ID to get any supplies that they may need, from hygiene products to shelf-stable food.

Delta Sigma Pi organized a fraternity food drive and set up volunteer sessions throughout the weeks beforehand to help get Elwood’s Cabinet ready for its grand opening. I participated in the food drive and donated various items to the pantry.

During the Spring semester I decided to pledge the business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi. Since one of their core pillars is Help, Delta Sigma Pi is very community conscious and encourages service around Farmville. Their main service event is helping with the charity Catfish Festival, an event located about 20 minutes outside of town. They’ve been partnering with the Shriners for over 20 years to help put on the festival, in addition to Hampden-Sydney fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon the past few years.

I decided to sign up a few days before the initial festival to help prepare the catfish that Shriner fishermen had caught. It took about an hour for 10 of us to bread and package 500 pounds of fish on a farm right outside of Farmville. While I had second thoughts about going at first, I found the trip to be extremely enjoyable. It was nice to have the chance to bond with my brothers and the brothers of Delta Kappa Epsilon while helping the Shriners with their charity event. We could tell that the Shriners were extremely grateful for our help, so it was nice to meet people from the community and it felt nice to give back to the Farmville area.

During my first semester at Longwood University, I had the rare and wonderful opportunity to volunteer for the Cyber Security Summit, an event leading up to the 2016 Vice Presidential Debate. Since I am a Business Administration major and Cyber Security minor, I jumped on the opportunity to learn more about technology in the business environment.

As a volunteer, I was a liaison tasked with greeting attendees and helping college students with their Lancer Cards. Having to arrive an hour before the event began, I had the privilege of meeting several Business School members, both student and staff, as well as Business School alumni who had traveled to the event. It was a great opportunity to not only meet students who actively participate in the Business School, but also see the success of the Business School alumni and get helpful advice regarding the business world.

In addition, I was able to attend the summit and gain valuable knowledge on the field I plan on studying, Cyber Security. Overall, my volunteering experience was a very positive one and further confirmed my confidence in my field of study.