Service Beyond the Burg

William and Mary students are all about service.  During the course of the semester, students spend countless hours tutoring in local schools and clinics, cleaning up the environment, and raising money for worthy causes.  But during spring break, service takes a different turn.  The Office of Student and Volunteer Services recently expanded their Alternative Spring Break program to address a number of new issues.  In the past, students have lined up overnight to sign up for these trips.  In order to prevent the lines of tents and sleeping bags outside the Campus Center, OSVS now assigns trips based upon a lottery system.  This year all spots were filled, and the demand for more trips is still growing.  Many groups traveled abroad, to Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and even Kenya, serving educational, housing, and medical needs.  Others stayed a bit closer to home and participated in trips addressing a number of domestic issues, including labor issues, environmental sustainability, hunger and homelessness, and youth development, among others.  These trips are all coordinated by the OSVS, but all are student led.

This year, I participated in a trip addressing educational inequality.  The members of two trips, one addressing urban and one addressing rural needs, participated in a one-credit seminar class which addressed background issues and discussed Teach for America, a popular recruiter for WM grads, as a non-profit organization.  Finally, after months of preparation, I travelled with my team of 10 to Gaston, North Carolina, to work in a KIPP school in an extremely rural area.  I learned all about the ins and outs of teaching, helping to grade papers and assemble bulletin boards, facilitated tutoring sessions and helped a group of 8th graders organize a 5K race to raise scholarship money for graduating seniors.  And most of all, we asked lots of questions.  We got to know teachers, talked to students, and answered lots of questions about college life and academics.  It was truly an inspiring experience, especially as we arrived the first week after the school received the news that 100 % of their first graduating class will be attending four year universities in the fall, which is a huge accomplishment for this small community.  And I think the inspiration even might have inspired a few team members to join the ranks of educators after graduating from William and Mary.  Service truly can change your life.

Colleen Kennedy

Class of 2010