SERVE Retreat

This past Friday and Saturday were the start of SERVE 2.0 - a new batch of freshman interested in community service and making their mark on the VT community. It is so fun to be around other people who see their college years as more than just a time to party and skip class, but as a time to jump into a new environment and become a part of it. Virginia Tech makes up almost half of the total Blacksburg population (with over 30,000 students and around 40,000 non-student, year-round residents). One thing I love about service here is that I get the chance to get to know some of those 40,000 - families from my church, Bob and Emily and their friends, children in the schools, etc. Blacksburg is my home for 5 years but it is their home indefinitely... where they spend their holidays, raise their families, bury their loved ones, and invest their time. What a gift I have to offer here; to offer my time and efforts to bettering this place and to invest in others who are also willing to give generously of their time and efforts.

A part of the retreat that I loved was getting to know each student's story - how they developed a desire to serve others and what factors in their lives impacted who they are. From formal activities like creating name-tags expressing their interests to just getting to know the students one-on-one during down-time, it is inspiring to see the passions of each individual. My hope is that each student will find ways to get 'plugged in' to the organizations that are in place that focus on their passions. There is a place here for those who love children (Daniel), those who feel called to preserving the environment (Steph), those interested in fighting to end cancer (many), those wanting to work with the homeless and orphans (Gaia), etc. Each student has a story that got them to this place and each story is equally important. If each of the 12 (plus our CAs) make a mark in an area where they are interested, the ripple effect in this community will be incredible.

I am loving these quotes from Washington University on service and plan to reflect on some of them during the semester - maybe a good project would be to have the SERVE kids eventually develop their own quote for their personal views of service?