Student Super Stars Lend Muscle To United Way

Posted by Neva Geisler, Director, Volunteer Engagement

Every Thursday night you can find 15 high school kids at United Way taking time from their very busy schedules of school, college searches, music lessons and soccer practice to invest two hours of brain power to plan Break Through with Farmway Village, this year’s alternative spring break project.  In addition to the 30+ hours they have already invested, these students will spend two full days of their spring break getting down and dirty creating community gardens, renovating housing units, fencing a basketball court, painting and doing trash pick up. This is tough stuff; we’re talking about breaking up concrete and hauling it away with wheelbarrows and buckets. Like that.

Which might lead you to ask–who does that? What high school kid, already juggling a hundred responsibilities, spends every Thursday night talking about sponsorship needs and concrete cutters?

These are kids like Mara Truslow. Mara is a senior at Riverstone International School. Mara is completely and totally dedicated to service, and not because she’s building her resume, but because, in her words, “What else is there?” 

It is this spirit that helped seperate Mara from 350 other candidates to be selected for the Ingram Scholarship, a full tuition scholarship at Vanderbilt University, specifically for students showing and outstanding commitment to service and volunteerism. This scholarship is just the next step for Mara, who will go on to create, serve and lead people in ways that make the world a more livable place for everyone.

I am honored to know Mara, just as I am honored to know the rest of these amazing students who are giving so much of themselves, many just for the fun of doing it. This is one of the coolest parts about being a part of United Way–there’s a lot to do out there, and a lot of different ways to do it. And I think we’ve struck gold with the alternative spring break project and the process of planning it. 

My thanks and admiration to Kylie, Maddie, Karl, Adam, Monica, Ali, Carol, Daniel, Janelle, Linda, Lucas, Shannon and Tamara. It is an honor to work with you.

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Filed under: Alternative Spring Break, Reasons to Give, Success Stories