For my STEP Signature Project, I traveled on a Buck-I-SERV trip to provide service in partnership with Easterseals Colorado, which is an organization that aims to create more opportunities for people with disabilities. Specifically, we worked at their camp known as Rocky Mountain Village to help with preparations for the summer when it would be attended by both children and adults with various disabilities. Our service projects entailed activities such as assisting in hosting a youth award banquet, creating a concrete pad around a tether ball pole, staining wooden barn doors, sorting camp shirts, testing walkie talkies, removing caulk around an outdoor pool, and various other cleaning or organizational tasks.

While completing my STEP Signature Project, several transformations occurred in my life relating to both my assumptions and my view of the world. The first change in my perspective that occurred during the trip was realizing how quickly a group of diverse people from unique backgrounds could be bonded together to create lasting relationships. This especially occurs through uniting around a common purpose or experiencing an adverse event together. My second transformation was in recognizing how relatively minor changes can make a big difference in increasing accessibility for people with disabilities, especially for those who use wheelchairs. Finally, a third change in relation to my view of the world was in believing that people with disabilities are still capable of participating in and enjoying the same activities as people who do not have disabilities, especially when given the proper resources and support.

As previously mentioned, one transformation that occurred throughout the trip was my realization that a group of diverse people can be quickly bonded together to build relationships, especially through a shared intention or unexpected event. This was driven primarily through the relationships I formed on the trip with our group of Buck-I-SERV participants from Ohio State. Although I had met several of the other participants at our pre-trip meetings, I did not really know any of the people before leaving on the trip. Nevertheless, our group immediately started introducing ourselves once we met to travel to the airport, and after that, we never stopped talking. Many of our early conversations related to our shared purpose at the camp and college majors, but we gradually expanded to other branches of conversation. Our travel issues on the first day also helped bond our group together. Our scheduled flight experienced a significant delay due to the plane being unexpectedly taken out of service. Therefore, our group spent nearly half of the day sitting on the airport floor and conversing with each other. This time spent getting to know each other truly helped set the tone for the week. Overall, this transformation has encouraged me to continue to connect with more people and become involved in different interest groups to expand my social interactions.

After engaging in service activities on the trip, another change in my assumptions involved recognizing that accessibility for people with disabilities, especially those in wheelchairs, can be greatly increased through making relatively simple yet intentional changes. One of the service activities we completed at the camp involved digging up a circular area around a tether ball pole and pouring a concrete pad in its place. Through creating this paved surface, the tether ball court is now accessible for people who use a wheelchair. While it takes financial resources to make changes such as these, I was surprised that our group was able to accomplish this task in less than a day by all working together. Another one of the service activities that was planned for us included finishing Chelsea’s Boardwalk, which is a boardwalk mountain hike that people in wheelchairs can explore with help from camp staff. Unfortunately, the weather prohibited us from getting to work on this project, but the staff is hopeful that future volunteers will finish the boardwalk next year. Primarily, this transformation will affect me in the future by fostering a belief that people can all unite together to work towards making the world more accessible for those with disabilities.

The final transformation that I experienced through this opportunity is understanding that people with disabilities can still participate in and enjoy many of the same activities that people without disabilities enjoy, especially if the individual is provided the appropriate resources. On our first day at the camp, we were given a tour of the grounds, which showcased all the activities the camp had to offer. Some examples of these activities include a craft room, a fishing pond, a horse barn, an outdoor pool, Chelsea’s Boardwalk, and a game room with foosball, ping pong, and billiards. Although there were not any campers at Rocky Mountain Village during our week, the experiences of the campers were memorialized in the pictures hanging on the walls of the main lodge and in the stories the camp staff would share with us. In the pictures, both campers and counselors alike could be seen with bright smiles on their faces. One staff member shared stories about the campers using Chelsea’s Boardwalk and the impact of the pool. Another staff member shared a story that one of the most powerful moments at the camp has been watching campers go down the zipline, especially those who typically use a wheelchair. In sum, this transformation has affected me by proving that with the right level of support, people with disabilities are capable of doing so much more than what others might initially think.

Although my Buck-I-SERV trip has concluded, these valuable transformational experiences will impact me for the rest of my life. Academically, this trip taught me about the types of accommodations and resources that people with disabilities may require. This information will be particularly useful in my future career as a nurse as I will care for patients with various disabilities. This trip also gave me more experience working together with a diverse group of people, which will be valuable as I not only return to an academic setting but also foster personal social interactions and enter my professional career. Personally, this trip reignited an attitude that I originally developed in high school: the most fulfilling thing I can do is to give of myself to others. Prior to this trip, it had been a few years since I engaged in a volunteer activity, so this opportunity inspired to me become more active in service again. Perhaps most importantly, this experience will have a significant impact on my future profession as a nurse.  It is almost certain that I will care for people with disabilities in my career, and my experiences on this trip will help me provide these patients with a higher quality of care. At the camp, the mindset was focused on figuring out how to make activities accessible for the campers rather than concluding that they simply could not participate, and I have adopted this determination. I hope to help empower my future patients with disabilities to believe in themselves and in what they can do too.