I believe that it’s more important for me to educate people about the ‘necessity’ of this group rather than its awareness. SERVE is not a group or a living learning community either, it is a family! A family consisting of members who strive to do big things in order to bring small changes. Being a family it is our responsibility to make sure that people around us are aware of the work that we are doing. In order to keep people informed and aware of our work, we should proudly and delightfully share our experiences with them, make them realize the satisfaction you get after bringing a smile on someone’s face or doing a random act of kindness. Motivate the people around you to engage in community service and help others because that’s the spirit of SERVE.
SERVE
Living and Learning Community
I believe that out of all the classes that I am taking, I get to take home the most valuable lessons and experiences from SERVE. I have been to three community service trips in the past two weeks and there is only one common thing that I always take back with myself, the value of life. We often receive so much that after a point of time we stop cherishing even the biggest joys in life, unless and until seen from someone else’s perspective. I was in Floyd to help some aged people prepare a Christmas Store for sales in December. I learned how one little toy, which would seem useless to most of us, could completely change an ordinary boy’s Christmas. I do not undertake community service for any personal benefit but just to do my bit in order to make sure that small efforts towards a better tomorrow does not go in vain.
Institutional Structures play a paramount role in making sure that all the tasks are undertaken on time and efficiently. Apart from young college freshmen full of spirit and enthusiasm and our course instructor, Ms. Cotrupi, we have been given a budget to fulfill the basic needs of the volunteering students. Also, we have Vans that easily accommodate up to six people each so that we do not restrict ourselves to Blacksburg but go out of our comfort zone and serve people of other regions and states. We have also been given a designated lounge where we meet every week to discuss our progress and what else can we do to make a difference. The spirit of SERVE is the motto of Virginia Tech, Ut Prosim, ‘That I may serve’ and I believe that all these Structures stand secondary in front of our willingness and courage.
The fact that we all have just entered our college life and are freshmen, initially we all were hesitant to talk to each other and open up. On the first Sunday of our first week in Virginia Tech I hosted a breakfast meal for all the SERVE members and made pancakes for them. All of us opened up and shared our expectations from the community, and now we make it point to cook on Sunday mornings and discuss matters. I think by doing this I brought the people closer and demonstrated the spirit of togetherness. I also motivate all my peers to attend each and every field trip and be as active as possible and have one on one conversation with all of them to make them feel welcomed and warm.
The most beautiful and satisfying part of my work is that I get to meet a lot of people, and by people I mean diversity! We go to community service trips to various places and experience things that completely change us. From small children to people and wheelchairs, I get to interact with people I serve and care for and feel so delighted when they appreciate my group’s work because at the end of the day, the only thing we look forward to is a smile on someone’s face.
I also love to travel and explore the untaken path; therefore I actually love what I do. The most magical part about this community is that you never realize that it is a class as it is so engaging and satisfying.
SERVE is a living and learning community where people with common believes live together and try to make a difference in the society. My father always taught me to never run away from my responsibilities and never say no to anyone in need, no matter what might be the circumstances. I believe that through this community work I get an opportunity to demonstrate these values. Last week we went to Radford to clean The New River as a group of ten students. The fact that we were just a small group did not demotivate us from cleaning a river stretching to almost 300 miles. Obviously we didn’t clean the entire river and were not alone but the most magical part about this trip was that we took the responsibility to do something which was out of our comfort zone and a little risky too, but we lived up to our morals and values.
Because of my service learning, I am a different person now. Service learning has actually been a life changing experience for me and by change I mean a positive change. I used to be a random guy who did not contribute anything to the society but after joining this community I feel like an integral part of the society and actually empathize with the people who struggle with life. It has been only three weeks so I won’t say that I have experienced everything but I am thrilled about the coming experiences and have a good feeling about my association with this community.