Reflection: Connect to Life Experiences

There is an old saying that we are made up of our life experiences and to most extents I feel like that is true. I was fortunate in highschool to be heavily involved with a few extracurriculars that really provided me with immense opportunities that I’m forever thankful for. Some of those significant activities from that past period of my life may not be as much of an everyday part of my life now, but I can see how the skills I learned have transferred. 

I started volunteering at a young age alongside my mom at our local food pantry, through the experiences I had there I learned a lot. My mom wanted me to see that not everyone lives like we do and if you can you should help others around you. Through my years volunteering at the food pantry from kindergarten to highschool I learned the importance of giving back to your community, being understanding of others, and the all important need for compassion in our world. Those lessons continued in highschool when I worked with one of my friends to start a student initiative that was focused on bringing together our mourning community. Unfinished; was the outcome of feeling the need to be productive and proactive while grieving. I spent hours working on the project and pouring out all the resources I had and could find to create a week long educational and interactive advocacy week on teenage suicide. This was the first time I had the opportunity to work on something I chose that could make a difference in our community. That project alongside my time spent as a student leader in FCCLA and FFA, as well as competing with both organizations I was able to gain skills that I still use. I learned proper interview etiquette, how to present myself and what I’m doing, how to network with new people, and other skills that have helped me to not only secure my on campus jobs, but also the scholarship that allows me to attend college. 

My SLE feels like a full circle moment in a lot of ways. I’ve returned to working in the community and ensuring that food is accessible to those in need which is where my love for service started. I feel like now more than ever I feel reassured in my passion for serving others. In another full circle moment I have two jobs that allow me to lead and work in a greenhouse and gardens, I started working with plants at a young age in our family garden, but in highschool I worked hard to prove to my county school board that I was qualified to be the student supervisor of our highschool greenhouse. My dedication in highschool to becoming one of the best in the state in horticulture and floriculture through FFA career development events and agriscience fairs allowed me to get my American Degree in diversified horticulture after my freshman year of college and my experience working at Berry. 

My work in highschool secured my job at Season’s Harvest my freshman year, my supervisor always reminds me that she called dibs on me with one glance of my resume. That same resume helped my to get my Gate of Opportunity Scholarship. My Gate Scholarship has allowed me to continue my education at Berry and I wouldn’t have it without those awesome experiences from highschool or the discipline and work ethic that they taught me. Other than providing me with a great community to be involved in on campus, Gate also allows me to dig my heels in at work because of our year round work program. The year round structure of the scholarship gives me the power to make real changes at work and it also allows me to become more acquainted with Rome. I spend more time in Rome than I do in my hometown which makes Rome feel like home. This has definitely had an impact on my SLE. When I first started working with Rome Food Oasis it was for an ACE class project for anthropology, but now I feel like I’m working to make an impact on the place that I call home. This is true in my other experience on campus working with the ESL program for my ACE Spanish course. My work seems more meaningful when I have the chance to interact with those that it effects. It makes classes seem more real and applicable and it is one of the reasons I love Berry classes so much. 

"I can go forward with confidence even if I’m not sure yet because I’m prepared not only in the professional sense, but I also feel prepared as a person who can intelligently and compassionately engage with the world around me."

My on campus jobs, classwork, and volunteer work are all combined and work together. I’ve continued to develop my passion for service, to learn about the people and community that I live in, and to develop a wide array of skills ranging from communication to business management. I’m currently in a stage of my life where I am at a cross roads considering what I want to do after graduation and my time at Berry working through my SLE has prepared me for whatever I choose to do. I am equipped to continue my education in a graduate program, to begin work in a business, or to jump into volunteering and leading in a new community. Life experiences are so diverse and unique to everyone and I’m blessed to have the ones that I do. Examining my experiences through the lens of my SLE is like I said, reassuring. I can go forward with confidence even if I’m not sure yet because I’m prepared not only in the professional sense, but I also feel prepared as a person who can intelligently and compassionately engage with the world around me. I feel as though an example of those two colliding is with our current national situations and those within my smaller communities. When I returned to campus in May I was tasked not only with picking up pieces at work after it had basically been derailed of our normal schedule, but I also had to be considerate and understanding of those around me. I was frustrated and had pressure to get started again, but I knew that I needed to work with my team to make that happen. I’ve learned that it may take an extra moment to compose yourself and be kind, but it takes much longer if you aren’t kind the first time. I feel as though that sentiment is applicable in business and in general day to day life.