Caring Cookies of the Community by Madison

Caring Cookies of the Community by Madison - May 2018 Scholarship Essay

Throughout high school and into my college career, I have participated in numerous volunteer events within my community. Participating in the UWSP Labor of Love event was a heartwarming experience. Labor of Love is an annual event that is promoted during your first week back on campus. As a first-year student at the university, I decided to sign up to meet other students and help within the Stevens Point Community. During the event, we pulled weeds, raked, cleared out clutter from homes, and assisted the residents of nearby households. When we finished our event, we were invited inside by a resident we had helped. As it began to storm outside, we ate cookies and chatted about UWSP and the neighborhoods that surround its campus. Additionally, I had the opportunity to volunteer on a Social and Service Committee for the University Honors Program. We are tasked with creating social and informative events for students to attend throughout the school year. The first event we created was an event involving cookies, coloring, and socialization. I created this event in remembrance of the volunteer event I attended at the start of my freshmen year and the cookies we shared at its culmination.

My contributions at the annual UWSP for Labor of Love event helped foster positive relationships between students and community members. Our work not only helped the residents in their daily lives but also helped connect former faculty members, alumni, and current university staff to the incoming freshmen class, current students at UWSP, and the Stevens Point Community. Volunteering on the Social and Service Committee for the Honors Program has allowed Honors students to attend events that pertain to their career/educational interests, connect with other students, and relieve stress from their weekly endeavors. Students that have attended our events have told us that our events helped brighten their day or that they have made friends with other program students due to attending. I hope that my efforts can help students in the Honors Program connect to one another and foster lifelong relationships through socialization while relieving anxiety from their day-to-day lives.

Through my experiences serving at UWSP and within the community I have learned that Stevens Point is an area built on community values. The students at UWSP and the residents of the city all band together to serve those in need within the community. I have witnessed this through volunteer events like Labor of Love, organizations like Operation Bootstrap, and through service opportunities like Make a Difference Day, The Boys and Girls Club, and Empty Bowls. I have also learned the importance of giving back to the community. The residents of Stevens Point, as well as the staff, supporters, and students of UWSP have all illustrated this and shown me how they go above and beyond in their daily lives to make their community a better place. My hope is that throughout my career at UWSP I can continue to serve my school and my community through service and volunteer experiences and that through those experiences, I can help connect students to the Stevens Point community.