On September 26^th, Stockton hosted a golf outing at the Seaview Golf Resort. As part of the softball team, I was asked to volunteer for the day. This involved selling raffle tickets, helping golfers on the holes, and being advocates for the college to persuade the attendees into spending more money that will eventually fund various scholarships offered by the school. As a recipient of a Stockton scholarship, I was happy to volunteer and offer my time to such a great cause.

               My day started off eating lunch and selling raffle tickets and other tickets for a Chinese auction. The main purchasers of our tickets were golfers who would later play on one of Seaview’s two top of the line golf courses. After we sold tickets, we were assigned in partners a hole to sit at and assist the golfers with anything they might have needed help with. For my specific hole, the goal was to get the ball as close to the hole as possible on the first stroke. Once the golfer hit his or her ball, we would go out with a tape measure and measure out the distance. When this was determined, we wrote their name on a board for their specific gender. The golfer with the closest stroke of the day would win a prize at the end of the tournament. On one of the courses, golfers had the chance to play against a professional golfer and try to shoot closer to the hole than the pro. It was similar to the rest of the holes but with the added pressure of shooting with a professional.

               Overall, it was a rather successful day for the school. Although I am not sure how much money was raised, I do know that each golfer paid a significant amount of money to play and hundreds of golfers came out. In addition to the entrance fee, each golfer also spent money on various raffle tickets and other fundraisers. It was good for me to see where the money that funds my education comes from. I never really thought about where the money comes from for schools’ scholarships but thanks to the generous people at Seaview that day, thousands of Stockton students, including myself, can afford to go school.

On September 7, 2013, I attended the Stockton Day of Service. When I first heard about it I was a little skeptical and thought to myself, “I’m sure it would be a nice thing to do but it probably is not for me.” Then, as it got closer to September 7th, I realized I should probably sign up and attend even if it is only because all of my friends are doing it. The day I signed up was the last time I had even any hesitation about the Day of Service.

When I first arrived in the Campus Center Event Room on the Day of Service, it all seemed a little hectic and all I wanted to do was find a service project that would interest me for the day. Although it was not my first choice (not to mention I had never heard of it before), I chose a group that would go to the Stanley S. Holmes Community Center in a less developed neighborhood in Atlantic City. Our task for the day was to play games with and hang out with children and teenagers and hopefully get them excited about going back to school. We started the day by decorating the community center with all kinds of back to school decorations and setting up a pizza station and an ice cream sundae bar. Even though we were minutes away from actually starting our service project, I still had no idea what I was supposed to say to these kids to get them excited about school. Then, I met a little girl named Maria. From then on, the whole day changed.

Maria has a hard time in school and in life. She hates school because she is always bullied and she really does not have many friends. Her parents are getting divorced so she harms herself to deal with the emotional stress of it all. Hearing her story and talking to her made me realize how much I have to be thankful for in my life. Also, just spending time with other people in the neighborhood made me see the sense of community everyone there has, even though they are under privileged. I always considered myself a grateful person but once I saw the struggles that Maria and even her neighbors go through every day, I was suddenly made much more aware of the privileges I have every day.

I started out the day skeptical at best about what I would be doing. Even while decorating the center I still was not quite sure about how I would be able to make a difference in how the children viewed going to school. By the end of the day, I realized that it was not so much about helping them as it was about feeling good about myself and the work I had done, however minimal it was. The Stockton Day of Service made me see how lucky I truly am and made me that much more excited to continue doing service projects around school and the community.