I am a senior from Richmond, VA. I am a double psychology/philosophy major, and when people hear about that combination that usually tell me to stop trying to figure out what people are thinking. However I have found these two majors to be very complimentary, allowing me to come at issues from two different ways of thinking. My interests are very diverse, and my history of service is a testament to that fact.
During high school I worked with various organizations doing work ranging from teaching art classes for underprivileged kids in downtown Richmond to serving dinner for displaced families at my church. The summer after my freshman year of college I was an assistant youth minister for the youth group at my church, and I helped lead the kids in two service projects over the summer. The first was doing house repairs in Pittsburg for elderly people who still live in their homes. Although there was plenty of physical labor to be done, the nicest part for everyone was the interaction with the homeowner’s, who would give out cookies and tell us stories from their lives. The second project was doing some more intense renovation at a deaf school in northern Georgia. Once again the real value of the trip was not the work that we put in for them, but the stories and lessons that we learned from the students and faculty. I especially like working with children. My mother ran a day care at my house for five years so I have a lot of experience working with children of all ages. I think the potential to do good by playing with and being a positive influence on children surpasses what can be done with money alone, both for the children and for yourself.