Office of Community Servicer - The George Washington University

                              Class of 2008
                                   Home town: Langhorne, PA
                                   Major: International Affairs

Service Role-Model:

            The truth is my service role models are the leaders I was so privileged to work with planning and executing ASB New Orleans 2008. Patrick, Jess, Laura, Rob, Collin, and Sasha, I love you guys, and its you all who inspired me to do service and who taught me the meaning of service-learning.

Service History:

            First year: None

           Second year: None

           Third year: ASB New Orleans participant.

           Fourth year: ASB New Orleans trip leader.

Inspirational GW Service Moment:

            This is probably my saddest service moment as well, but it really had a profound impact on me. My first spring break in New Orleans, March 2007, we went to the lower 9th ward in New Orleans, right where the levees broke the hurricane, and the place looked like an atomic bomb had hit it. It was completely devoid of life, with houses untouched since Katrina; you could walk inside if you held your hand over your mouth and see pictures still on the wall, kids' toys on the floor, in one case a boat on a roof. We took the group back one year later for ASB 2008, and I was stunned. Not by any changes to the scene, but the complete lack thereof. It was a moment frozen in time, the lower 9th remained untouched, where everyone could see it. It was a national embarrassment, and summed up the problem of New Orleans in general; it was being neglected and allowed to deteriorate in plain sight. The condition of the lower 9th ward inspired me to volunteer with AmeriCorps, so I could physically participate in bringing this city back.

Funniest GW Service Moment:

             Skit night at Camp Hope during ASB.Making 92 people act in impromptu sketches we devised the night before was hilarious.

Important Lesson Learned from Service:

              The concept of service-learning. Through service you are visibly giving your time and energy to help the unfortunate, but the intangible reward you receive from doing so equals, if not outweighs, the gift. The lessons learned through service are invaluable, and are carried with you for your entire life, whether it be a new skill like construction, or perspective on a different way of life. Through service I've been able to truly see the connections between all of us as people, whether it be the student at GW, the volunteer supervisor at the site, or the hurricane victim you are trying to help. The relationships are all reciprocal, and truly makes us all brothers and sisters, and reveals the good and decent side of human nature.

Plans for Service Beyond GW:

               Well, right now, I'm currently volunteering with New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity through the AmeriCorps program, which entails 1700 of service over 11 mos. as a construction supervisor. I started in August 2008 and will be there till July 2009. Afterwards, I hope to find a nonprofit to work for overseas, potentially in Latin America.

First year: I started the year as a CBC Participant. I worked as the Student Assistant for OVPR, where I helped to plan two Graduate Student Days of Service, the Help the Homeless Walk, Hunger Banquet, AIDS Walk, MLK Day of Service, CBC, and Adopt a Family. I also served as an MLK Day Site Leader.

Second year: I was the Volunteer Coordinator for Jumpstart. I helped in the planning process for Kidsfest. I coordinated the Leadership Corps and was the primary planner of JFAD. I was a CBC Group Leader and an MLK Day of Service Team Leader.

Third year: I was the Neighbors Project Service Coordinator for Community Development and the Environment. I also volunteered at Washington Parks and People, and had a class which required Service-Learning. I was the Service Organization Liaison for the service student organization Circle K. I was an MLK Day of Service Team Leader.

My first semester of my freshman year, I was asked to lead a group of students for the Graduate Student Day of Service. We had about 50 grad students RSVP for the event, but only about 6 showed up that morning. The event planner talked to the grad students who had come, and considered canceling the event due to the low numbers. Instead, though, those six students insisted on serving, so we broke into two (small) groups and still went about the day of service. We were able to finish everything that the site was expecting from us, although it took a bit longer than anticipated, but at the end of the day, everyone had an amazing time and left with a smile on their face.

It was October, and I was working the phones in OCS. A senior citizen who had attended the last two senior proms called to RSVP. She understood that the event would be in April again, but she wanted to call in October because she was afraid all of the spots would fill up and she wouldn't be able to come.

Service and OCS are what helped me to find my home at GW. Having come from a small town in Wyoming, I understood at the deepest level the concept of community, but it was through my service at GW that I was able to understand that there is a larger sense of belonging within the smaller communities in the city.

I am starting Law School in the Fall of 2008. During law school and after completion, I hope to work in the realm of Community Development, and through that work, offer pro bono services to the members of those communities in which I live and work.