Service and volunteer work have been a big part of my life since I was in middle school. Back then, I would volunteer to help younger students with math and English remediation work. During my three years of middle school, I always volunteered to help our art teacher set up for the middle school art night. I would continuously help out in the following years once I got into high school.
When I got to high school, I kind of kept a low profile while adjusting as a freshman, but once I hit my sophomore year, I got more involved. I joined my school’s interact club, where I volunteered at small events.
In my junior year of high school, I went abroad with the Rotary Youth Exchange Program, and while I was in the country of Ecuador, I volunteered with the local interact club to participate in community service events, and events with my hosting Rotary Club. I spent a day with the local interact club, handing out Christmas presents to a local community that wouldn’t have been able to provide that for the children. And instead of just handing out the gifts, we spent almost the whole day playing with the children to have an overall great day.
My hosting club held a couple of events in a lower-working class school and an orphanage around Christmas time as well. These events went over much like the project with the interact club, but it was a little less flexible in allowing us to stay a bit longer to play with the children.
When I came to Susquehanna, I initially thought that the service day we did during orientation week was a lot, mostly because I was super tired from everything we were already doing. But while looking back on it now, I’m glad we did it, because service has since become a big part of what I do and what I am on campus.
Joining ZTA was a decision I made, not only to be part of a Greek organization, but to also feel like the service work I did had a greater purpose than just picking weeds out of the cracks in the sidewalk. I get to serve alongside my amazing sisters, fighting until pink is just another color. And now, I get to serve alongside my new brothers doing more in the community.
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So, here’s to service, and the people that do the service.