RENEE SEDLACEK SERVICE LEARNING COORDINATOR
Community involvement is my passion. But I didn’t always realize this.
You see, I went on my first service trip my freshman year of college and little did I know at the time how that experience would shape the rest of my life! I know, it sounds a little dramatic and over the top, but I can honestly say it’s true.
As a freshman in college, I didn’t know a lot of people yet, and I was a little intimidated about the idea of spending a full week with people I didn’t know, not to mention I was going to be far away from home. But by the end of that week, I had formed a strong bond not only with the people on the trip but also with the people we had served.
I had in my head that I was the one that was going to “help” them and in turn received so much more from those I served than they will ever know. I was the one that had been changed by the service, and it has since then shaped what I now consider my life’s work.
So what role does service play in your life? What is driving your interest and fueling your passions? Think about the skills and talents you bring to the table, and I can guarantee that there is a need out there that you will be able to meet.
Are you good at working with your hands and doing construction? Then you might enjoy participating on a Fall Break Habitat for Humanity Service Trip (there are still spots available!) Or maybe you prefer playing with children, so make a visit to the Volunteer Action Center and they can connect you to a local after-school program.
Or maybe you still aren’t sure what you are interested in, so I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and give it a try. It’s through my journey of service to others that I have begun to understand how my greatest passions and desires can meet the greatest needs of the world. Service is what connects us to the rest of humanity, because anyone can do it.
As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Anyone can be great, because anyone can serve.”
Give it a try. It might just change your life!