Maybe I'll Make a Difference

Yesterday (Saturday), I got invited to a Valpo Guild Luncheon. (Also, it featured chicken salad and ice tea for lunch which was amazing for a warm Sept. day!) I had met a few of the Guild Members before, but I got to know a few more of them while increasing my Valpo pride. (Side note: I was the youngest person at the meeting by probably 20 years so the mom's and long time grads asked me a ton of questions about what was going on at Valpo - it made me miss it a lot, but it was nice to talk about it with people who loved Valpo too)

They also wanted to know what I was up to post-graduation. One Guild member who I had met a few times and emailed even more, told me that she could tell I was happy about my job because of the "sparkle in my eye" - it was such a sweet thing to say, but it is true. I truly feel like this is a perfect fit for me right now. I am truly happy being with the Red Cross. It was nice to hear that from someone that is not a family member or close friend.

Anyway, also at the luncheon I was talking to a women with who I will be working a college fair with (we are both part of VAN - Valpo Admission Network - which is a group of alumni all over that attend different college fairs for Valpo - it helps expand our admission team and allows us to reach many more schools than we would reach if the fairs were just covered by staff). She asked me about what I want to do after AmeriCorps. I told her honestly that I am not totally sure - maybe something at a nonprofit, maybe something using more of my bio studies, we'll see... She was happy to hear that I was thinking about nonprofits (she had worked with the American Cancer Society) and encouraged me to look into admissions at a university as well. She also gave me a lot of ideas, advice, and encouragement about working with kids. She told me about a committee that she had been on that fell inactive, but they had talked slightly about having college tours for 6 graders that go to at-risk schools to show them some options they may have for the future. This was not much more than an idea before the group fell apart, but she told me about it and sort of challenged me to propose this to a committee that I will be on as part of my position at the Red Cross. She gave me multiple resources and people to talk to. She  also told me that she thought I could make a difference. I had only known her for about half an hour! I told her a bit about my trips this summer and about my current job and previous work at camp. (Again, my parents have always had faith in me and encouraged me, but you (or at least I)never take that very seriously. Parents are supposed to think that (I mean I realize that not all parents do -- and I would love to help the kids that are in that boat).) She thinks I can make a difference in a child's life - and she told me that right to my face! Whoa. I had never really heard someone say that so straight up and honestly to me. I'm beginning to think that maybe it will be true. I want to help kids. I'm pretty lucky and I didn't really realize how lucky I was until I traveled to big cities this summer. I want to try to help kids who are not as fortunate as I am. I want to give them a chance and hope for a better future. Having her express her confidence in me really started me to think more about my future and what I want out of life. Today, I added to my "job wish list" (I'm a list girl for sure), "help people - make a difference". I don't have set plan of how I'm going to do that, but I think I'm off to a good start! Through my job, I will be helping kids learn different aspects of health and safety. I also get to serve as a role model to these kids as well as my Sunday School class. I get to teach my Sunday School class life lessons that maybe they will share with a friend or a sibling. I have so many opportunities to help people (specifically kids) and maybe make a small difference in their lives. Maybe someday I'll come up with a neat program or complete a part that my new Valpo friend has given to me. I want to contact the people/organizations that she suggested and get feedback about having 6 graders take tours at local colleges (we do this at Valpo) - it could really help motivate and educate kids about their options. Maybe it would help one child have a better life or maybe it would encourage 5 kids to go onto higher education. I guess I would never know, but I want to do something to try to help. I'm so excited for this challenge that she helped create for me. I'll obviously write about my updated plan, but I have lots of hope and determination that one day I'll make a difference (even if I don't even know that I did it).