While I may have been raised in a small town in North Carolina and C.S. Lewis raised in Ireland, we both came to experience a great moment in both of our lives that had a lot of similarities. He was born in 1898 and I was born in 1998, I came in this world right at a year after he did. The amount of change that happened in the world during that time did not change the same key components of family, nature, and beauty that were all used in both of our special events. My experience with the Blyde River Canyon, was extremely similar to C.S. Lewis’s experience with the Toy Garden. My moment came when I was taken on a trip to south africa with my grandparents and my two younger cousins.…
1. Nanny;2015-present; During my graduate school program at the University of South Florida I am currently working as a nanny. My responsibilities include preparing meals, feeding, leading activities, and playing with the two children. I currently work an average of 10 hours a week for the family. 2.Chiropractic Assistant; 2014-2015; Upon graduating from FSU I was lucky to have gained an amazing position as a chiropractic assistant at a thriving practice in my community.…
An achievement and experience that has had a significant impact on my life is being selected as a Monthly Service Coordinator for the UAB Leadership and Service Council during my undergraduate studies. The purpose of the Leadership and Service Council is to plan and coordinate service projects for the entire UAB community as well as providing members with an opportunity to develop leadership skills. Events planned by the Leadership and Service Council include the September Service Madness, Into the Streets, Hunger Banquet, Ongoing Service, Monthly Service Projects and more. Not only was being selected for the Leadership and Service Council a great personal achievement for myself, it was also a fulfilling experience. Before college, I was heavily…
For my sixty hours of volunteer work I decided to volunteer at a Child Life Center which was in a poverty stricken area in Norfolk, Va. At the child life center my job as a volunteer was to assist the children with their homework, help the staff monitor the children on local field trips, as well as serve as a positive role model for the children. The experience I had at Park Place Child Life Center was one I will honestly never forget. Although I didn’t get any actual counseling experience, I was able to learn the ways that the non-profit organization received their funding, I was able to gain experience in working with the youth, and I was also able to make a positive impact on the lives of children who were considered “at-risk youth”. To go there every day and be able to see the change the children had in their behaviors and how much just some attention and affection from adults impacted their behaviors was honestly amazing.…
I never knew going on vacation would change my life forever. We where shopping and i was planning on buying a souvenir. A homeless man was leaning against one of the shops. I asked my mom for ten dollars from her purse. She gave me the money…
Divine Trust Trusting in a divinity isn’t as easy or straightforward as it sounds. I can most definitely attest to this. As a person raised in the Christian church I have not only have I lived this statement, but over the years I’ve seen it in the lives of various friends in my youth group. I continue to see this struggle to trust throughout the plot of “The Odyssey” by Homer. The protagonist Odysseus, his son Telemachus, and Odysseus’ ship’s crew all are prime examples.…
Another huge experience that has changed my outlook on life was going to the service project for the Isaac school district. The children attending the schools at the Isaac school district are in intense poverty. I have gone during the school days to help out in the classroom, to bring Thanksgiving dinner boxes, and to deliver a Christmas gifts to the kids. The kids on these campuses have the most amazing attitudes in the worst conditions. Some of the children go home on Friday and don't have a meal until they come back to school on Monday.…
I was able to volunteer at a local bank that was sponsoring the Lake Park Elementary School for the holiday season. The school has over 300 underprivileged students between the ages of kindergarten and fifth grade. Most of the students at that school only have one meal per day. Along with other volunteers, I packaged bags that contained candy, toys, toiletries, a blanket, and a pair of athletic shoes. The bags were able to provide the children with goods that we often take for granted.…
While in Brazil on a mission trip to volunteer in schools with Saint Vincent College, I worked closely with the children in the favelas and visited their homes to better understand how they lived. Every house contained multiple families and in a one room basement lived the most loving family who changed my life forever. The youngest child in the family was only seven years old and he had more surgeries than years on earth. During his time he had lost his legs and right arm but never his spirit or smile. I had never seen so much strength in a person and the way his mother talked about his medical care and how much it did for them as a family struck me.…
One of them was on October 2013 when my friend asked me to join his group on walking for cancer. I agreed right away since I knew he was part of the nonprofit volunteer group called Bridge of Health where they help children who suffer from cancer but their families do not have sufficient funds to cover their expenses. I did some more research for why people walk for cancer except bringing awareness. I found out that it also raises millions of dollars for cancer research and treatment. It was an honor to be part of the team who was doing a phenomenal job.…
I stayed overnight at L’Arche International in Clinton, Iowa from October 13th-October 14th as my community service project. L’arche is a nonprofit organization that provides home, community, and and support for adults who have intellectual disabilities. During this time, my group and I participated in birthday celebrations, prayer, song, community service, and sharing life. This opportunity allowed me the chance to both learn and reflect about this marginalized population. When we initially got to L’Arche, we were greeted by the student coordinator, Bethany.…
We spent a whole day at my school doing simple tasks such as garden cleaning, moving old furniture, covering graffiti, repainting old walls and stairwells. In the end, volunteering had a huge impact not only on me but also the community around me. It enabled me to connect with my community and make my school a better place. I realized that helping out with the simplest and smallest tasks can make a drastic difference in society. If we were to lose physical space, people would surrender their desire to obtain public good.…
Sixth grade for was one of my most difficult years of my life so far for a few reasons. First off, sixth grade was my first year of middle school, meaning a whole new school, new school system with class schedules, lockers, multiple teachers, and having passing periods were all new concepts for me to grasp as a kid. More importantly however, the second reason sixth grade was so difficult for me was that over the summer leading to that school year, me and my family left the Catholic church that my mom’s family had been going to for about a hundred years or so, and it was a completely different environment for our entire family because we spent the entire summer up to the first week of school looking for a new church in our area, going to a new…
The purpose of a mission trip is not to save everyone or solve hunger. Many people who take mission trip have this mentality, and I 'm not going to lie, my first mission trip this is what I expected. I believed that I was going to be the one person to go down and “change” the people. This idea is far from reality, but I realize that you can make a difference in some people’s lives. I have taken a few mission trips to the Dominican Republic, where I have built relationships with the people down there.…
One of the most meaningful experiences that I’ve encountered was this summer on my cruise to the U.S. Virgin Islands. It was a meaningful experience because it showed me what life is like outside a third-world country. It also made me realize that I am very fortunate of my life and how I have grown up. Making our way off the boat into this huge open warehouse to the streets of San Juan, I was frightened because of the things I've heard about San Juan. I was walking in the middle of my family not losing sight of my phone or purse.…