The service learning aspect of Elon’s curriculum is something that most appealed to me about this university in the first place. Throughout my experience at Elon, I have taken advantage of service-learning opportunities both through Elon and separate from it. I have always felt that giving back to a community gives one a stronger place within that community, and volunteer work is essential to building relationships locally, nationally, and globally. The service-learning program that is part of the South Africa course will give me my first opportunity to offer my services on a global scale.
As a freshman, I was a part of the “Elon Amigos” program, which involved mentoring a bilingual high school student at Cummings High School in Burlington. I found the experience educational, interesting, and rewarding, and decided to take another service learning class this semester as a junior. Over the course of the next three months, I will be a public relations volunteer for the Burlington Housing Authority, which is a local organization that provides after school programming for students in the area. Both of these service-learning experiences and my future experience in South Africa will allow me to graduate from Elon with as a more active and globally aware citizen than I was when I started here.
At home, I have volunteered for a variety of different organizations, like local food banks and Special Olympics. I am always searching for new ways to give back and become a more active part of the community, and I can’t wait to experience that in another region of the world. I am looking forward to making new connections, forging new relationships, and observing the impact of my service efforts on a community I care about.