This afternoon, my roommate and I visited the Celebration of Service outside of the library in the F Wing atrium. In the weeks leading up to this event, I had received numerous emails advertising the day and encouraging students to participate by setting up a table to present their community service projects to their peers and professors. Upon entering the exhibition area, my roommate and I were surprised to notice how few students had chosen to partake in the day’s festivities, and we could actually count the number of tables on our fingers.

            We first stopped at the Water Watch table to speak to a student who had organized various beach cleanup projects in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. She informed us that there would another beach sweep on Saturday morning, and encouraged us to attend. We admired some of the decorative boards, and picked up a few pamphlets from a table advocating for the Peace Corps and other organizations. From there, we visited a small group of students representing Clean Ocean Action, an organization promoting awareness of ocean pollution and taking initiatives to correct this problem. The students running the table asked if we would mind taking a brief survey to help their cause, which would enter our names into a drawing to win a free gift basket. With the small number of students in attendance, we figure our chances of winning are pretty high! The survey asked us questions regarding what proximity we live to the beach, if we are concerned about polluted waters, and what actions we personally would be willing to take to help correct the growing problem. All in all, our visit was brief and pleasant.

            It was encouraging to see the students who did choose to present their projects, as it demonstrated just how dedicated they truly were to the causes for which they were advocating. My roommate and I, who had conducted our own fundraiser this year by selling tee shirts to benefit the Red Cross’s Disaster Relief Fund in reaction to the recent hurricane, realized we very easily could have chosen to present our project as well. I personally left the atrium feeling a bit disappointed in myself for not taking the initiative to present about the hard work we put into our own project over the course of this year, and am now motivated to participate next year. Hopefully in years to come, more students will feel compelled to share their projects with the rest of the Stockton community and inspire us all to give back.