Through my internship with AmeriCorps, we have plenty of opportunities to actively give back to our community. We are based at West Texas A&M and I was able to volunteer at the New Student Orientation over a span of three days. I was able to meet parents and students looking for school resources and organizations for them to join. We explained what our organization was and the mentorship we offered on campus for new incoming freshmen.
I chose this to help service future students find a mentor to help them find school resources, answer any questions and guide them through their first semester in college. The most challenging part of volunteering through this was being able to attract parents and students to our booth. Our organization isn’t as popular in our demographic so it was tough finding students to sign up. In my own experience, I lacked guidance and had so many questions to figure out whether or not I wanted the major I had at the moment. This experience allowed me to understand how important having a mentor is in the first year of college. Especially being able to have guidance in school will help most of the struggles students face.
Another service I chose was called United For Our Kids. This event was provided by United Way in Hutchinson County. They offered school supplies, athletic physicals, vision screenings, haircuts, and more. I was partnered with High Plains Helping Hand at Frank Phillips College.
I am glad I am able to help students get the supplies and other school needs to continue the new school year. We volunteered our time at their booth for students to receive backpacks, school supplies alongside kid friendly events. It was a back-to-school event for students to engage with the community and allow the community to offer needs for students.
