Service Reflection For A Community

The community service that I had done was, I worked with the High School Wilderness Club during the events that they do for Hamburg and surrounding areas. For most of the events I helped out by setting and cleaning up the trash cans, barricades and signs that had to be put out before and after the events, and during the events I would work by making sure the trash cans were not getting too full or just to make sure that everything was running smoothly. I chose this work because I am a member of the Wilderness Club and had originally only joined the club because of all the fun things they do throughout the year. After being told that I had to do community service to go on the fun trips, I said why not, if I want to do the fun things, then I guess I’ll have to do the work involved. I hoped to learn the different values of the community and also to get to know more people in the school and community. All of the work that I had done was with groups of people, so that gave me the opportunity to make new friends and get to know them better. I also hoped to learn that just because you are doing work does not mean that it will be boring. Every time I was working I always had fun, and it was a quite enjoyable time. I went into the project thinking I just have to do this to get it over with so I can graduate, but I ended up to really enjoy what I had to do.

Each of us will show we are leaders by being positive role models for these young people by showing them we genuinely care about them and their futures. We represent the service component by taking time to work in an organization that is in need of volunteers. We recognize that this is not a faith-based organization, but we chose to act on our individual faiths by doing God’s work and serving others. We will demonstrate the pillar of learning by working with children from different backgrounds than we grew up in. Also, we will encourage the children to learn through mentally stimulating activities in a fun

(Wilson & Musick, 2000) Volunteering at City Youth gave me the opportunity to invest in children’s lives, and hopefully, have a positive impact. This semester, we played games, laughed, ate, and shared about our days. My experience at City Youth Ministries was not “ a short-term artifact” (Astin, Sax, & Avalos, 1999). Hopefully, this service participation will enhance my opportunities for graduate schools (Astin, Sax, & Avalos, 1999). By volunteering at City Youth, I accepted the social responsibility that I have to the children of

“Success isn’t just about what you accomplish in your life; it’s about what you inspire others to do.” Throughout my four years at Sartell High School, I have tried to do what I can to help others and inspire others to be better people and do great things. I have worked to do this through many aspects of my school life, whether it is through Student Council, on the soccer field, or in the classroom. I have also taken the time to mentor a student in Sartell Middle School through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, and it not only made an impact on his life, but it also changed mine for the better. My experience as a mentor at Sartell Middle School has been long and enjoyable, and I believe that it has allowed me to grow into the person I am today.

I have the privilege of being involved with such an impactful organization. While helping, youth developed lifestyle skills, I’m also developing skills. Each year I form some amazing relationships that create lifelong friendships. Excitedly each encounter with the youth helps build my belief on why it’s important to help others along my journey. Therefore, being involved with this organization has transform and impacted

During the spring semester of 2015, I took the Service-Learning course in psychology (Psych 410). The general structure of this course included attending a 70 minutes long class on Mondays and Wednesdays to learn about service learning from the psychology field perspectives, reading scientific articles, conducting literature reviews to broaden my understanding of the subject, and in class constructive discussions with my colleagues. The course required 50 hours of community service at any local organizations or schools. From February 24 to May 8, I volunteered at the Arc of southern Maryland, an organization that provides residential services for individuals with intellectual disability. This organization has several homes in the Leonardtown area. Each home has four to five residents that are grouped based on the developmental disability conditions. As part of the class, I was required to write eight reflection papers about my volunteer site visits that were minimum of one page. Additionally, the class required me to develop a hypothetical program that would be beneficial for the individuals that I worked with.

My service learning experience opened my eyes to many new ideas and supported the information that I have been learning in class. For my service learning, I went to West Elementary school and worked in an all girls first grade classroom. West is located in a very urban neighborhood right outside of East Lansing. In the beginning of my service learning, I was in culture shock due to the size of the school, make up of the students/teachers, and the social economic status of the students. All of these components were drastically different from the school I came from. At first, I didn’t know what to think of the school or students, but I eventually realized that their goals and priorities were different from the elementary school I went to. The three main concepts that stuck out to me during my service learning experience include, the social construction of gender, special and gifted education, and funding.

For my Reflective Service Learning Project, I volunteered at Westminster Shores Community Living. Westminster Shores is a community living center, with independent living and assisted living. They hold many events for the residents that lives there, as well as involve the volunteers in discussion groups. In addition, on of the main goals of the volunteer program is to create a connection between the students that volunteer and the residents who Live at Westminster Shores. As a volunteer, I participated in discussion groups, Saturday morning activities, and a “Day of Friendship”. Originally, being introduced to this volunteer opportunity, I though I was going to be sitting and talking to residents while playing games and doing puzzles. Although I love those activities, I was very pleased when I learned that I was going to be involved in discussion groups and projects. One of the main goals of the volunteering program is to connect students with the residents, so being involved in communicating with the residents creates a connection. I was able to connect one on one with some residents, as well as chat in bigger groups. In addition, I participated in the set-up of the Holiday Market, which is held annually, and I met several female residents with tables, selling homemade items. I enjoyed and learned about them talking to them through set-up. Furthermore, during the “Day of Friendship”, I spent the day with one resident and am still in contact with him and his wife. Through

As I have spent my last four years of high school at North Gwinnett High School, I have been immersed with many opportunities to involve myself in community involvement to better the community in a place where I call home and into different corners of the world. Through boughts of community service and volunteer work within my community, I have not only gained a new, fresh image of what a community really is, but a new hope for a bigger and brighter future. Because of my experiences with volunteer work with Happy Feat, North Gwinnett High School Girls’ Lacrosse Camp, and food packs, I have learned new routes of leadership and gained new perspectives from those experiences.

In the school environment, teachers may often experience different type of students that come from poor to wealthy families. As a teacher, it is important to learn and be open-minded about students’ backgrounds. In COE 202, my plan is to volunteer for the Boys and Girls Club and learn from my experience. It is important for me to volunteer because I need to experience what my future career will be like. Service learning can help one learn new things about what one’s interested in. The Boys and Girls Club is a good opportunity for me to see what it is like working with kids from low income families.

I graduated BS in Human Services at Gwynedd Mercy University. As a Human Service, students were taught and expected to have gained the ability to relate to individuals at multiple levels. Students were expected to be able to articulate sociological and psychological theory and be able to apply these theories in understanding individuals and society.

As a service learning coordinator, I worked with faculty to implement service learning in the classroom by helping teachers develop and adapt current curriculum, lead and co-teach classroom lessons, educate and train faculty in the field of service-learning. In addition, my role was to serve as community liaison for the purpose of identifying sites for individual student’s service-learning placements and larger, multi-student project sites. I worked with local businesses and community leaders interested in exploring new ways to connect students with the community and bring the community into the public school

This past summer, I had the opportunity to attend an amazing leadership camp called Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA). For the whole week, I completed multiple workshops, while making new and long-lasting relationships. As my main workshop, I chose the service workshop; we created three separate service activities for the entire camp. My group was in charge of the self-love activity, promoting the idea of service while teaching the importance of self-worth and acceptance.

Maine Youth Leadership helped me fathom that I could make a difference. I wasn’t just a teenager. This belief came about during the volunteer panel of the seminar. For this, all of the ambassadors were split up in small groups and shipped out on busses to local organizations in Southern Maine. I realized that day, that no matter the circumstance, anyone can make a difference to themselves, and to their surroundings.

I’m eager to bring my perspective to the explemary University of Oklahoma, championing the idea of “thriving community”. This means stepping away from the laptop and meeting people where they are at. I have found a passion for serving youth, as I can relate to the unique challenges that come with adolescence. It is crucial for every individual to know that their story can be used to help others, and to put in the mental, physical, and emotional work to serve is a worthy