At the beginning of this semester, through ACES, we made blankets for Project Linus to give to children in need. Along with being a fun service project and some quality bonding time for me and my roomie, I learned a lot about service. I learned that service is not always “active,” meaning that we were still making a difference in someone’s life without physically being there with them or physically helping them. I think there is a misconception about service that it always has to be a big event to really matter, like going to another country and building houses; but this project showed me that you can make an impact even in a small way. This has encouraged me to participate in service in smaller ways more often. This service project also let me reflect on my life and my good fortunes. I have never had to consider myself “a child in need” and I am thankful for this blessing and I hope to work toward all children feeling like I feel and not being cold, hungry, or homeless.

I recently starting volunteering with the ACE program through the Nisonger center which works with college-aged people with Autism. I work at the Nisonger center as a Student Assistant but I learned about ACE more in-depth through ACES at the community meeting where Jen Wong and Jillian Ober spoke about Nisonger center social programs. I volunteer with ACE on Friday’s where the ACE members get to do a fun educational activity that is also beneficial for them in their daily lives. My job during these events/presentations is to help set an example on how to respond and behave in this setting and also participate, assist, and encourage members of ACE to participate. Volunteer participation makes it feel more fun and more like a community with the ACE members. Through ACE I have become more aware of the challenges that people with developmental disabilities face. I have also learned how to more effectively communicate with people with disabilities and help them if need be. I have never volunteered with people with disabilities before which is part of the reason that I believe this experience to be so important. It is vital to know how to communicate and work with people who are different from you and this clearly includes people with disabilities. Moving forward I aim to continue volunteering with ACE and take on a more active role.