Prior to Sandy/Nola

Sorry I've posted this so late. I've just realized how to work the blog.

Having done community service since middle school, community service use to be nothing but hours to me. Since middle school, every school I attended required at least 60 hours of community service to be done. Being young and naïve, my instant thought was to just get it done. I did a few gardening projects here and there, afterschool tutoring, and worked with various community centers. When I got to high school, I got more involved with the All Stars project of New Jersey which opened my eyes to what service was truly about. I worked with inner city students who wanted to change their lives around and assisted them as they built their resumes and worked to find jobs in order to support their families. What use to run through my mind was “How are we the same age, live in the same city, yet have such different life circumstances”? Talking to the students individually made me realize the various trials and tribulations that they went through, but the drive I saw in their eyes made me know that they would be successful and I was contributing to their progress. This made me not only appreciate what I had but motivated me to get more involved in making my community better. As a Bonner Scholar, I knew I could do outreach in local communities but also nationally with the various trips lined up for our every academic year. Preparing to go to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and Katrina is both exciting and rewarding. It will give us the opportunity to help repair physical damage, hear about the experiences of the people who were affected and also serve as a bonding experience for our freshmen class. Nonetheless, the hard work and dedication we put into our work in both New Jersey and Nola will showcase the lasting impact of our service.