As a senior, one starts to think back to their reasoning for attending Gonzaga. I started to think about my own reasoning; was it because Gonzaga is a well known and respected University or the fact that I have never heard someone describe GU without using the phrase ‘close-knit community.’ I think what makes Gonzaga such a unique University is that fact that students have the opportunity to learn and grown in the classroom but even more so in their actions outside the classroom. Students have so many choices as to how to get involved it’s often hard to pick just one organization to be a part of.
Gonzaga’s Center for Community Action and Service Learning (CCASL) has been providing service opportunities for students for the past 15 years. Campus Kids, is just one of the many programs run through CCASL, but with 106 volunteers it’s a favorite of students. At the end of the year, Campus kids volunteered 13,449 hours of service.
“I love being a part of the Campus Kids movement,” said the Parent Teacher Liaison for Bemiss Elementary School, Megan Arabian. “We have the opportunity to impact students from the greater Spokane Community.”
CCASL not only benefits the greater Spokane community but helps the mentors develop just as their mission statement says, “To develop student leaders with an ethic of service and life-long thirst for social justice.” An end of the year survey states, “90% of mentors felt they have become more tolerant of people’s differences,“ and “96% stated that being a mentor has made a significant contribution to their Gonzaga experience.”
After looking back at my experience as a student, I know service is another huge part as to why I chose to attend Gonzaga. The many hours I spend volunteering has a huge impact on my own personal growth – and for many students at GU. Without the support and funding from donors, this valuable experience would not be possible.
Contributor: Kristen Little, Class of 2011
Kristen Little, Class of 2011