The Student United Way Movement
It’s funny how sometimes the things in life that go completely wrong are the things that lead you to exactly where you’re meant to be. That’s how it came about that I am Campus Engagement intern and part-time Loaned Executive at Metro United Way. It’s also how I came to be Sommer’s guest blogger today. My name is Rebecca Hall and I am a senior Communication student at the University of Louisville.
An interview gone badly in the field I intended to go into after college led me to rethink my dreams of becoming a journalist. I was pretty sure the interview was an omen nudging me to change my course, but what direction was I supposed to turn now? While contemplating this I had one of those “Ah-ha!” moments that change the course of your life. The reason I was drawn to journalism was that I saw writing as an avenue for bringing to light social problems and injustices. I saw it as a way to inspire change and make a difference in peoples’ lives. It had never occurred to me until then that I could do more than just write an occasional inspiring article; I could work on the front-lines of solving community issues and really have an impact! That’s when I visited Metro United Way’s website and discovered that the three building blocks to a good life, education, income and health, were exactly the areas I wanted to pursue to enact change. A few emails, interviews and training later, here I am.
As Campus Engagement intern, I have the exciting challenge of helping to launch Student United Way at area colleges. Student United Way is a student-run organization that inspires college students to give, advocate and volunteer in the areas of education, income and health. We want to find out what issues are important to students. Do you feel strongly about providing educational opportunities to children in low-income areas? Do you want to make students aware of the benefits of certain health practices? We want to provide students an opportunity to be leaders on their campuses and leaders in their community. We also want to connect service-minded students to each other. What talents and skills can you bring to Student United Way that will benefit the common good? We want to inspire area college students to Live United.
A Student United Way group is already underway at Indiana University Southeast and my main focus will be to engage students at U of L. Our goal is to eventually have student leaders from all area colleges working together to give, advocate and volunteer. We hope you will join and support the Student United Way movement!
Interested in helping us start at Student United Way on your campus or know a local college student who would be a good student leader? Contact me at rebeeca-dot-hall-at-metrounitedway-dot-org or call 502.292.6185 for more information.
Welcome, Rebecca! We are very lucky that your path has crossed at Metro United Way and hope you have a great summer experience with us :=)