What do you think of when you think of New York? For me, NYC always seemed like a scary, exciting place that I had yet to explore. The majority of my friends had been there but I never had… that is until HES gave me the perfect opportunity to change that.

As soon as I heard of the opportunity to go to NYC with my Humanitarian Engineering Scholars group,  I knew it was something I just had to do. It was a short weekend that would give me the chance to explore the city, make new connections within HES, and also leave feeling good after some community service. What could be better?

My time in NYC was a whirlwind. You can imagine how crazy it is trying to fit in miles and miles of the city in just 24 hours. But with my MetroCard in my hand, I felt unstoppable. I loved every fleeting second of it.  The art and culture were breathtaking. The sights and sounds were overwhelming. Finally connecting the dots between everything I had seen in movies with what I now saw, in reality, was so satisfying. To sum it up, I adored my time there. But surprisingly I almost loved my time serving at the park the next morning even more. To be fair I definitely complained when burr after burr got stuck to my clothes, hair, and skin as we fought against the weeds that were swallowing up a local park. But seeing the immense progress just 30 students could do on one spot in four short hours was worth it. I even had a man walk up to me and thank me for what I was doing. The hard work was very rewarding and felt like the cherry on top of a fabulous weekend.

To an outsider, my trip to NYC may have seemed meaningless, just a fun getaway. But in reality, that trip really changed my  mindset. I have always shied away from stepping out of my comfort zone. After NYC I feel like I want to jump out of it and never look back. Taking a trip with almost complete strangers eight hours away was frightening, but the rewards that came out of it were well worth it. And afterward, the strangers didn’t seem so strange anymore. NYC, HES, I love ya.

During my freshman year of high school I made the decision to sign up for a volunteering opportunity under a program called Gliding Stars. Gliding Stars is an adaptive ice skating program for those with special needs, particularly children. When signing up I had no idea how large of an impact this weekly volunteering commitment would have on me. To be completely honest I just wanted to use this service for my college applications. But after the very first practice I knew this would turn into so much more. Fast forward four years and I was saying goodbye to my “Star”, a little girl named Piper whom I had watched grow so quickly in those short years. Tears rolled down my face as I gave her one last tight squeeze. Piper was nonverbal but she always shared her emotions in such powerful ways. On that last day with her she must have known it was the end because she held on to me just a little tighter.

I don’t want to make it sound too easy, though. Piper and I had been through some tough times, including violent tantrums that would roll on week after week and never seem to end. But those weeks that I got to witness her pure joy or hear her little laughter hour after hour made me forget anything else. I learned so much from that sweet girl, including values like patience, appreciation of diversity, and unconditional love. I will carry these values with me for the rest of my life.

My time with Gliding Stars greatly influenced the direction of my life now. This program and the values learned through it impacted my decision to be a part of engineering as well as my choice to join Humanitarian Engineering. Because of Miss Piper I know now that I want to help others with my career, whatever it may be. I no longer think of success as being measured just monetarily, but more so with how much impact I can make on the lives of others. I am so grateful for my time with Gliding Stars and for that sweet little girl who opened my eyes to the love that is available in every soul. All it takes is a little compassion.