Our guest blogger for this post is Shannon Barr, AmeriCorps VISTA at High Point University.
Each of you are entering college with diverse passions, goals, philosophies and experiences that shape your own unique perspectives and guide you throughout your journey not only as a student, but in your journey of becoming a global citizen. As an HPU alum, I wish to share with you my journey, a journey which has led me to the City of High Point as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the High Point University Service Learning Program. On move-in day in August 2010 I embarked on a journey to find my niche on campus and my place in the world, much like you soon will. By the time I walked across the stage in May 2014 with my B.S. in Exercise Science, I had been successful as a student, but I still had not quite figured out my place in the world as a global citizen.
Throughout my time as a student I had clearly defined what I, personally, considered to be “success” at the time. I excelled academically, worked with the HPU Academic Services Center and HPU Dine, and was an active member of multiple service and academic student organizations. I considered myself to be successful, however, I always felt like I was seeking something more, something greater. Now I realize that I hadn’t yet found the work that I truly felt to be work of significance. I was doing what I did best—academics—but much like Moore “I hadn’t quite figured out how to align the things I thought were important with the things I thought I could do best” (120).
Through the patient guidance and encouragement of two inspirational faculty members, Dr. Amy MacArthur and Dr. Jenn Brandt (coincidentally both Service Learning faculty), upon graduation I stepped into my role as a NC Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA. I have aligned what is important to me—social justice and service—and what I am best at—education, pursuing my passion and living a life of success and significance. Whether I am planning the MLK Day of Service alongside my fellow VISTAs, community members, and students, supervising Service Learning students and Bonner Leaders at the Community Writing Center, or leading the Bonner Leader Program in weekly meetings or on their spring break service trip to Washington, DC, I am continuously “reminded of how spending time with a diverse group of service-oriented people can energize the mind and spirit like nothing else” (102).
I am thankful for my job with the Service Learning Program because I get to work together with diverse, passionate, and service-oriented people across campus and our community whose mission is to serve the city of High Point and enrich your experience as a High Point University student. Moore specifically praises the impact of service learning by commenting that “without the service learning, I never would have understood why any of this stuff matters and what it means to be a global citizen” (178). Taking a service learning course at High Point University provides you the opportunity to couple academic coursework with community service, applying what you’re learning in the classroom while giving back in service to our community. Over the course of the semester, the hours served in our community helps students to see why and how the material learned in the classroom matters in the real world. This experience allows you to be aware and informed, not only as a member of the High Point University family, but as citizen of the city of High Point and as a citizen in a global context.
I have been fortunate enough to witness the lives of many students being transformed by their experiences participating in service learning classes, serving on MLK Day of Service, joining service-oriented organizations, and making campus and community connections as Bonner Leaders. Whether you take a service learning class, participate in one time service events during the holidays, or join a service organization on campus, I encourage you to explore community service and to be a part of the movement towards civic engagement in higher education, a movement that asks you not only what your major is, but what your mission is.
As members of the High Point University family, you are challenged to grow into global citizens who lead lives of success and significance, or in the words of Wes Moore, lives that matter. I’ll end by echoing Moore’s call to action, asking you- the HPU Class of 2019- how are you going to make your time at HPU matter?