Why SERVE?
I chose to be apart of SERVE for a couple of reasons. The first reason why I chose SERVE is because I have a passion for service and I wanted to continue serving in college. The second reason is that I wanted to be in a tight knit community of people who also love to serve.
I have had a heart for service for as long as I can remember. I was very involved with helping out at my church, Highlands Fellowship. I started to actually get involved with helping around the church around fourth or fifth grade. I helped one of the older volunteers with the setup of the equipment that would be used for the elementary kid's service. At that time, I thought that working behind the scenes and knowing how everything worked and went together was the coolest thing ever. I continued to to serve the elementary students even after I moved into middle school. I was also volunteering as the set up crew for the middle school service as well as the elementary school service. I guess at one point I realized that I was over extending myself, so I backed off a little from helping the elementary kids. I still helped them out, but not until the middle school service was all setup. Fast forward a little and I'm now serving in both setup crew and the tech team. My youth pastor, Jordan, introduced me to one of the tech team volunteers, Anna, and after attending a few band practices to work with the tech equipment, I started to really enjoy helping in the tech team. Fast forward again to around sophomore/junior year of high school. I am now a part of a local high school group called Bristol Youth Council and still volunteering on the high school tech team. Bristol Youth Council was made up of high school students from some of the local high schools near Bristol, VA and was led by the incredible duo Jo H. and Margaret F. I got to volunteer with a lot of organizations in Bristol and see different parts of my town that I had never seen before.Through BYC, my heart for service really started to blossom and I started to care more about the community I was living in and how we could improve it. However, volunteering for my church became a second nature for me and I got burnt out on wanting to help. Looking back now, I realize how selfish I was being. Yes, my well-being does matter, but service is all about being selfless and improving the lives around you. That is why I am passionate about service. Being able to change somebody's life and see that change makes me feel good.
I was pretty nervous when I thought about going to VT. I was nervous for a few reasons. One, being that I had to leave home and my comfort. Two, I had to live with a somebody I did not know. Finally, I thought I would just get lost among the other 30,000 students here at VT. During Hokie Focus, my mom and I went in Squires and walked around all the booths that were setup. She encouraged me to go up and talk to the people hosting Living Learning Communities. One of those was SERVE. We both had previously looked at SERVE online, and I liked the thought of it, but I needed to be convinced. After I had asked one question, and my mom had asked her fifty, I was convinced on joining SERVE. I was still nervous about the roommate situation, but knowing I'd be in a tight knit community so focused on service made me less nervous. Fast forward to September 2016, and I am loving being in SERVE. It is so amazing being around all these people who love to serve! Everybody is so eager to do service and life is good when you are surrounded by people who love service just as much as you do.
Those are a couple reasons on why I chose to be a part of SERVE. Being able to continue my passion of service and be surrounded by others who love service is incredible and I am a super happy Hokie. If you are thinking about attending VT please please please consider joining SERVE! You will love it and thank me for recommending you to join.
I have had a heart for service for as long as I can remember. I was very involved with helping out at my church, Highlands Fellowship. I started to actually get involved with helping around the church around fourth or fifth grade. I helped one of the older volunteers with the setup of the equipment that would be used for the elementary kid's service. At that time, I thought that working behind the scenes and knowing how everything worked and went together was the coolest thing ever. I continued to to serve the elementary students even after I moved into middle school. I was also volunteering as the set up crew for the middle school service as well as the elementary school service. I guess at one point I realized that I was over extending myself, so I backed off a little from helping the elementary kids. I still helped them out, but not until the middle school service was all setup. Fast forward a little and I'm now serving in both setup crew and the tech team. My youth pastor, Jordan, introduced me to one of the tech team volunteers, Anna, and after attending a few band practices to work with the tech equipment, I started to really enjoy helping in the tech team. Fast forward again to around sophomore/junior year of high school. I am now a part of a local high school group called Bristol Youth Council and still volunteering on the high school tech team. Bristol Youth Council was made up of high school students from some of the local high schools near Bristol, VA and was led by the incredible duo Jo H. and Margaret F. I got to volunteer with a lot of organizations in Bristol and see different parts of my town that I had never seen before.Through BYC, my heart for service really started to blossom and I started to care more about the community I was living in and how we could improve it. However, volunteering for my church became a second nature for me and I got burnt out on wanting to help. Looking back now, I realize how selfish I was being. Yes, my well-being does matter, but service is all about being selfless and improving the lives around you. That is why I am passionate about service. Being able to change somebody's life and see that change makes me feel good.
I was pretty nervous when I thought about going to VT. I was nervous for a few reasons. One, being that I had to leave home and my comfort. Two, I had to live with a somebody I did not know. Finally, I thought I would just get lost among the other 30,000 students here at VT. During Hokie Focus, my mom and I went in Squires and walked around all the booths that were setup. She encouraged me to go up and talk to the people hosting Living Learning Communities. One of those was SERVE. We both had previously looked at SERVE online, and I liked the thought of it, but I needed to be convinced. After I had asked one question, and my mom had asked her fifty, I was convinced on joining SERVE. I was still nervous about the roommate situation, but knowing I'd be in a tight knit community so focused on service made me less nervous. Fast forward to September 2016, and I am loving being in SERVE. It is so amazing being around all these people who love to serve! Everybody is so eager to do service and life is good when you are surrounded by people who love service just as much as you do.
Those are a couple reasons on why I chose to be a part of SERVE. Being able to continue my passion of service and be surrounded by others who love service is incredible and I am a super happy Hokie. If you are thinking about attending VT please please please consider joining SERVE! You will love it and thank me for recommending you to join.