Sunday, November 20, 2011

SMART Goals

Hello again!

Last Summit class we had, our group discussed SMART goals and the significance of SMART goals.  There are five different parts to a SMART goal, which are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.  To be a smart goal the goal must have these five different parts and be explained through the goal.

Our SMART goal has to do with the number of times Mariah, Erica, Katie, and I will bell ring before Christmas for the Salvation Army.  The SMART goal is to bell ring as a group at least three times for at least two hours each time, sometime before Christmas break.  I will make sure to arrange a time preferably on a weekend for us to bell ring together as a group.  We will make sure this goal is achieved, because our group wants to help the Salvation Army in every possible way we can.  We are aware and know the need of under privileged families, especially during the Christmas Season.  

Stay classy Drury University,

Haleigh Brown


Hello there!

In class on Friday, we talked about SMART goals. When talking about SMART goals you must always remember to include specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely in the goal. Each member in our group was assigned a goal that we were supposed to turn into a SMART goal.

My goal deals with our mid-term evaluations. The SMART goal is to organize the plans for our mid-term evaluations. I will make sure that our goal meets the requirements, and is completed for sure by December 9th, but hopefully a week before that. In order to achieve this goal, my group has planned a date to sit down and figure out our exact plans for the presentation and paper for the mid-term evaluation. We are going to try and get it done a week early so that way we are not stressing about it, and also so we will have time to look over it that week before it is due. We are also going to find a time to practice our presentation, so that we are well prepared. This is a goal that must be completed, and I have a good feeling that my group is going to have a thought out and excellent presentation and paper.

Until next time,

Mariah Elizabeth Fulbright



Hello again!

There are numerous things we would like to accomplish during our time with the Salvation Army.  My goal is for all four of us to work at the Salvation Army’s Christmas Shop.  The shop is provided to parents who cannot afford to buy gifts for their children for Christmas.  The parents get to essentially “shop” and pick out toys that they want for their kids.  One of our goals is to be able to work directly on this event.  Whether it is actually working at the shop and helping parents pick out toys, or setting up for the event, we want to make a direct impact.

It is very important to make sure you have SMART (Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely) goals.  Our goal is very specific.  We want to be directly involved with this event because we feel it is really special to be able to help parents give their children gifts for Christmas.  Whether it is organizing the event, running the event, or collecting items for the event we feel we can be a big help.  All of us care about children, so this is a great opportunity. 

Our goal is also measurable.  We want all four of us to work at the event for at least two hours.  This is how we will measure our success.  The more time we dedicate the more good we can do.  Helping out at the Christmas Shop is also a realistic, attainable goal.  It is not something outside of our budget, capabilities, or time-frame.  We all can dedicate two hours to a great cause and I know the Salvation Army will take as much help as they can get.  Finally our goal is timely.  The Christmas season is nearing so it is the perfect time to be involved with the Christmas Shop.  We will talk to Audrey Esther, our Community Advisor, by Friday, November 18th to begin making plans for our participation in the event.  The event will obviously occur sometime between now and Christmas.
Overall, I am very excited about helping out the Salvation Army with their Christmas Shop.  It always feels so good to help out those who are less fortunate, especially during the holidays.  If we can put a smile on the deserving parents’ faces, I feel we will have achieved our goal.

Have a great Turkey Day!

Katie Battalia


The Salvation Army Summit Park group plans on getting at least ten other Summit Park members to take shifts ringing bells for eight hours one day in front of the Battlefield Mall.  We want this to be done by the second weekend in December. 

We plan on accomplishing this goal by contacting the other Summit Members and seeing who would be interested in helping us out with this project.  We would also send out a signup list so we could see who would ring and at what time.  We would send out this list after Thanksgiving break so that people would have time to plan and check their schedule.  We are really excited about this project and getting everyone involved!

-Erica 

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Goals for the end of the semester


Hello All!

I am still continuing to work at the Salvation Army.  Usually Mariah, Erica, and I work in the food pantry, but the Salvation Army employees are in need of extra help in the office during the busy holiday season.  This past week Audrey, our advisor, had each one of us doing a different job.  Mariah worked in the food pantry and Erica worked on the computer.  I worked on making packets with information about bell ringing.  I also stuffed and sealed envelops with information about volunteering to bell ring to various businesses, organizations, and churches who have signed up before.  Since the Salvation Army is really busy this time of year, we are going to start volunteering an extra hour each time we volunteer.

            To help with the need for bell ringers for the Salvation Army, we had the idea to get our Summit Park Leadership Community involved.  We would like to arrange a day for the members of Summit Park to bell ring for an hour at a time for an entire day.  The location of this event is unknown, but we will find this out this Friday at Bass Pro Shops, which is when the bell ringing kick off begins.  This would help benefit the Salvation Army and be fun for each one of us to get to know each other.  Katie, Erica, Mariah, and I have all discussed it and we think that the Summit Park Community needs to start encouraging and supporting each other’s projects.  We believe that this would be fun and a great way to get to know each other a little better.

For our project, we are still continuing to meet with our faculty advisor along with our advisor at the Salvation Army to discuss possible ideas and plans.  We have several different ideas in mind for our project.  We are also continuing to have our weekly meeting between the girls involved with our project.  I am really looking forward to working with the Salvation Army during the holiday season with various volunteer opportunities.  I hope to reach out to the Springfield Community with my bell ringing skills.  From now until the end of the semester, I would like to bell ring at least two times, along with our plan to get the Summit Park Community to bell ring for an entire community.  I hope that I can get people to donate money and also encourage the Drury University Summit Park Leadership to get involved with the several volunteer opportunities that the Salvation Army has to offer.

Stay classy Drury University,

Haleigh Brown


Hello again!


This past Wednesday, I spent my time at The Salvation Army with Betty who works in the food pantry. It had been a couple of weeks since I had been in there and it was nice to be back. While I was there, Betty told me a little about the craziness that goes on at The Salvation Army. She explained that the Girls Auxiliary is the first group to ring bells on the opening Saturday of the Christmas season. She said that she does not like to ring the first Saturday because people are upset that they are already putting out the kettles to collect money. This made me sad to think about because it is for such a great cause. Oh well, though. Roughly thirty minutes before I was finished volunteering, I went to help Erica and Haleigh put together packets that are passed out to various organizations. The packets have information regarding the sign ups for bell ringing. I am looking forward to going next week to see what Audrey has for us to do. We are now going in for an hour extra each week, in order to help them prepare for the busy season. I wish that I had all day to help The Salvation Army get caught up on stuff, but sadly, I don’t.

Since it is reaching the Christmas season, The Salvation Army is desperate for as much help as they can get. Instead of working in the Food Pantry every week, our advisor, Audrey, is having us help her out in the office. There is a lot of office work that needs to be done. For example, two weeks ago, I was in charge of calling businesses and various organizations to ask if they are interested in volunteering this year for the Christmas season. Audrey expressed how thankful she is for our hard work that we do for The Salvation Army. I love it that we can be such a big help for the few hours that we are there each week.

My personal goal for the rest of the semester is to bell ring several times for The Salvation Army. I also plan to get others involved with the bell ringing. Audrey has asked our group to involve the other groups in Summit Leadership Park. We are going to ask our fellow classmates to sign up for a one-hour sifts to ring bells on a Saturday of our choice. While they are bell ringing, my group is going to bring them cookies or hot chocolate to show our appreciation for them. We have still been meeting with our faculty advisor, John Taylor, to talk with him about our progress throughout the semester thus far. I am looking forward to getting more into the Christmas season. I will be posing again soon with more details on what we will be doing for the busy and joyful holiday season!


Until next time,



Mariah Elizabeth Fulbright


Hello again! Last week I prepared a mailing list for the Salvation Army to the State of Missouri describing in detail their plans for expansion.  Earlier this year, the Salvation Army announced that they will be expanding their Chestnut location to include more services for the homeless in Springfield.  From what I saw of their floor plans that they are sending to the government for approval, it is going to be an amazing project and will truly open up the door for The Salvation Army to help more people out.
On a different note, it is finally starting to look a lot like Christmas around The Salvation Army! This is the busiest time of the year for them.  From bell ringing to volunteering at the “Christmas Shop” where people in need can pick out toys for their children for free, there are definitely a lot of volunteering opportunities available around this time.  My goal is to ring bells at least 3 times before Christmas and hopefully get the Drury community involved in the bell ringing as well.  The Salvation Army gets so many generous donations around this time of year and they can use as much help as they can get! Personally, I would like to donate items for their Christmas shop and perhaps get my family involved in that as well. 

I love that we are getting to volunteer at the Salvation Army during Christmas! It constantly reminds me of how fortunate I am and how important it is to help others out during this time of year, and all year round!  I looked forward to Christmas all year when I was younger, so the fact that some parents are not able to give their children presents on Christmas truly saddens me.  By helping out, I feel I can do my small part in making sure that children across the Ozarks can have a present to open on Christmas!

This Friday, we are going to be volunteering with The Salvation Army at Bass Pro Shops for their annual bell-ringing kick off! This is our first big event that we have had a chance to volunteer at so I am really looking forward to it! 

Bye for now,

Katie Battalia


Hey everyone!

I wanted to talk a little about what has been going on in our Summit Park Project recently, we have been extremely busy!  Now that the Christmas season has hit at the Salvation Army things have gotten really busy!  Audrey has asked us to help her out getting things organized and planned instead of working in the food pantry.  So far I have made calls out to organizations asking them to sign up to bell ring.  I have also made packets of information, labels, and business cards.  I am glad that we have been able to help Audrey out, and hopefully we are helping to keep things running smoothly! 

I also wanted to mention some of the goals that I have for this semester regarding working at the Salvation Army.  One of my main goals is to work in the Christmas store that the Salvation Army has so that families can provide gifts for their kids.  I think that it would be an amazing experience to see the store in action, and be able to interact with the people that go there.  I am also really excited to bell ring for a couple of hours.  I have done this before, but I think that it will be a great bonding experience for Haleigh, Mariah, Katie and I to ring together!  As for the rest of the semester, I am just planning on continuing to go in and help with the rest of the Christmas season!

-Erica 

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Smart Mob Experience


On Monday October 24, 2011 Drury University developed and put together the first Smart Mob.  The Smart Mob rode on charter buses to Joplin, Missouri to help clean up the damage after the devastating tornado that hit in May 2011.  The Smart Mob partnered with the Extreme Home Makeover Edition Crew to assist the town of Joplin to recover and rebuild it’s town from this horrible tornado.  Drury University’s Architecture students began working in Joplin on Wednesday October 19, 2011, which was the beginning of fall break.  These students dedicated their entire fall break to help rebuild the town of Joplin. The reveal of the finished houses was on Tuesday October 25, 2011.  Drury University’s Smart Mob and Architecture students helped build a park for the people of Joplin.  There is a memorial at the park that displays the rubble that was found after the tornado. The park is in honor of the volunteers that helped rebuild the town of Joplin, Missouri.

My experience with the Drury University Smart Mob was a great experience.  I think it was wonderful to know that I am helping the Joplin community get back on track.  I did not realize how horrible and devastating the tornado was until the charter buses drove us around town before we did our volunteer work.  I feel as if a person does not fully understand how terrible something like this can be until you see it in person.  I know that it was great to help Joplin.  I know that even though there has been so many volunteers there is still so much work to be done still.  I was a little upset with how the Extreme Home Makeover Edition TV Crew told the volunteers to act busy or to act like we were doing something so that they could film us.  I felt like the Extreme Home Makeover Edition was making the acting part more important than the actually volunteering part.  Overall, I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to work with the Extreme Home Makeover Edition while giving back to the Joplin community.

We have still been working in the food pantry, but last week we started working for Audrey, the Volunteer Coordinator for the Salvation Army and our advisor for our group.  We have started volunteering three hours a week instead of just two since we are approaching the Christmas season.  During the Christmas season the Salvation Army is always in need of extra volunteers.  I recently worked in Audrey’s office this week and my job was to prepare a list of people and organizations to bell ring during the Christmas season.  Doing this has made me realize how much work and effort a person has to put forth when dealing with a nonprofit organization.  As a group we are still planning our campus wide clothing drive to reach out to those in need while involving the Drury community.  I am looking forward to helping the Salvation Army during their busiest time of the year!

Stay classy Drury University,

Haleigh Brown



            In May 2011, Joplin was hit by an EF-5 tornado that left the town of Joplin devastated. However, the people living there did not just give up and decide to not try to rebuild, but instead began rebuilding immediately. Extreme Home Makeover contacted Joplin to ask if they could come build seven houses in seven days. Joplin was extremely grateful for what Extreme Home Makeover wanted to do for them. Students and faculty/staff from Drury University volunteered at Joplin, Missouri from Wednesday, October 19th through Tuesday, October 25th. On October 24th, Drury got a Smart Mob of 150 students together to go help out at Joplin. Drury Architecture students were in charge of designing and building a memorial park for the people of Joplin. This park was designed in honor of all of the volunteers that helped rebuild Joplin. In this park, they had a memorial where they used some of the rubble that was found around the old park, which was destroyed by the tornado.

            I really enjoyed being a part of Drury’s First Ever Smart Mob in Joplin, Missouri. It felt great to be able to say I gave back to Joplin’s community. I had a lot of fun volunteering because it felt good to give back and it was also a great time with my friends. I have volunteered quite a bit, but I really have not done anything like this before. I went to Stockton, Missouri when they were hit by a tornado, but all I did was pass out food to the people living there. This was different because we were not just giving the people a meal, but we were helping them rebuild their community. This gave me more of a fulfilling feeling. However, it kind of bothered me that the people from Extreme Home Makeover worried more about the show part of it rather than just building the houses. It bothered me to see them wasting a lot of time on filming the show. I feel like they could have built fourteen houses or more if they would have cut out all of the extra filming that they did. However, I just kept reminding myself that this is what Joplin really wanted and that we were helping them out so much.

            Everything is still moving smoothly and right on track with The Salvation Army. They keep us very busy and we are extremely eager to help out. On Wednesday, I talked with Audrey who is the Volunteer Coordinator at The Salvation Army about the Christmas festivities coming up. She explained that The Salvation Army is hectic and busy about two months before Christmas. There are several volunteer opportunities that are available for the community to get involved with to help out this organization. The most common volunteer option that most of the community gets involved with is bell ringing. Audrey explained to me that they raise the most money from bell ringing. I have still been volunteering almost every Wednesday. This Wednesday, I called different organizations and businesses to ask them if they would be willing to volunteer for The Salvation Army this Christmas season. It was nice for me to see that the Springfield community is extremely eager to help out with The Salvation Army. Almost every organization and group that I contacted told me that they were interested in helping out again this year. I am looking forward to getting more into the Christmas season.

Until next time,

Mariah Elizabeth Fulbright
  


Hello!

Over our fall break many Drury University students went down to Joplin to work on a special project to commemorate all of the volunteers that have helped in Joplin, and all those that are still helping.  The project that they were working on was building a park that represented many different stories, those who lost their homes, and the volunteers.  Drury worked hand in hand with the Extreme Home Makeover with this project.  On Monday the 25th, over a hundred Drury students were bused down to Joplin to act as a volunteer mob.  We were supposed to get in and get out as fast as possible while helping put the final details on the project.  During the few hours that we were down there, we laid sod in the park, unloaded plants, swept the sidewalks, and helped get the ground ready for laying down the sod.  Then, at the end of our time there helping out, Extreme Home Makeover showed us and wanted to film us in action, which was a very interesting experience.

My personal experience with the Smart Mob was a great one!  For a few weeks before the Smart Mob I helped in the Leadership Office to help get all of the volunteers organized and ready to help.  This was an interesting experience that kept me busy!  I really enjoyed the organizational aspect of it, and felt extremely accomplished when it was over with.  Because I had worked behind the scenes of the event, I was so excited to actually go down to Joplin and see what was going on!  While waiting to get on the bus, the Smart Mob had to run down Drury Lane screaming and getting excited to get started!  We then had to walk down the lane acting like we meant business.  I had a hard time staying serious for this, but I really liked the idea and hope that I can see the final project of all of the pictures and videos.  When we got down to Joplin and were handed our hard hats and gloves I started to get really excited.  We ran off of the buses and got right to work.  I was handed a big pocket knife and my job was to cut small strips of sod and fill in the holes.  Thankfully I managed to not lose a finger!  When all of the sod was laid we sat in a circle and heard about the symbolism in the park.  This was one of my favorite parts.  It was really neat to hear about what the architecture students had designed and why.  They worked so hard on this project and it turned out great!  The rest of the night was a little different when Michael, the designer from Extreme Home Makeover, came over to help.  It was interesting to see behind the scenes of the show!  Overall, I think that this was a great experience, and I am so glad that I got to help!

I want to briefly talk about our Summit Project!  The past couple of weeks we have been working hard on volunteering at the Salvation Army, meeting with our advisors, and planning our spring project!  I love volunteering in the Food Pantry on Wednesdays and I look forward to it every week.  This week, we started something new.  It is the start of the Christmas season for the S.A and they are extremely busy.  Audrey, our community advisor asked us to help her get ready for the busy time.  So on Wednesday Haleigh, Mariah, and I helped to call organizations to remind them to sign up to bell ring, check addresses of who needs to be contacted, and put together information packets.  Audrey needed additional help, so I went in on Friday as well to finish up contacting people about signing up!  It is exciting to get to help will all of the behind the scenes work! 

See ya!
-Erica  



Last week Summit Leadership Community went to Hollywood, aka Joplin, Missouri to volunteer with Extreme Makeover Home Edition!  As a part of Drury’s first Smart Mob, we traveled to Joplin to assist with Drury’s and Extreme Makeover Home Edition’s efforts to help restore Joplin after the devastating tornado.  As we drove through the city of Joplin I was amazed.  The high school and St. John’s hospital looked as if the tornado had just happened yesterday.  Not to mention, hundreds of houses were still in shambles.  I did not even realize that the city was still in this state. 

Once we got to Cunningham Park, our jobsite for the day, we were told that we will be laying sod.  I was so impressed with the memorial Drury created and the play set area volunteers with Extreme Makeover Home Edition created.  Even though the work was tiring, I really enjoyed being about to contribute to this amazing project.  When we were walking to dinner we walked by this house that was in horrible condition and out back there was an RV.  Two men were sitting outside of the RV thanking us over and over again for helping making Joplin look beautiful.  One man told a student that he was in the RV when the tornado hit.  He was just so thankful for us restoring the park and it truly touched my heart.  He wasn’t even one of those chosen to receive a free home from Extreme Makeover, yet he was so very appreciative.  I feel very grateful that I was given this experience.  It has caused me to appreciate what I have and never take life for granted.

As for our Summit Project everything is going as planned.  I am still working in the business office.  Next week I am going to begin calling organization that have rang bells before and ask them if they are going to participate again this year.  Soon we will start gearing our efforts more towards the Christmas season, helping out where we are needed.  We also plan to ring bells several times this winter.  I am really looking forward to helping the Salvation Army out during this busy time of year.

Happy Fall,

Katie Battalia

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Leadership Quotes


Haleigh Brown

“Leadership is the challenge to be something more than average.”

Jim Rohn
        

Mariah Fulbright

“Do not follow where the path may lead.
Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

Harold R. McAlindon
(also attributed to Emerson and others)

Katie Battalia

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."

Steve Jobs

Erica Ramsey

“It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.”


Thursday, September 29, 2011

First Blog


 September 28, 2011

            My name is Haleigh Brown.  I am from Bolivar, Missouri.  I am currently a sophomore at Drury University, majoring in Elementary Education.  After I graduate from Drury, I would like to teach at a small school around the Springfield area.  I am actively involved at Drury University, and some of the organizations include Delta Delta Delta Sorority, Drury Ambassadors, Student Recruitment Team, Drury Student Teachers Association, Alpha Lamba Delta Honor Society, Gamma Sigma Alpha Honor Society, and I work as a campus tour guide.  I believe that these are all great organizations that will help improve my leadership skills.  This year, I am a member of the 2011-12 Summit Park Leadership Community.  The other members of my group are Mariah Fulbright, Erica Ramsey, and Katie Battalia.
I had heard about the Summit Park Community, knowing only that it was an extremely competitive housing option on campus.  Each group picks an organization to partner with and works throughout the school year volunteering for this organization.  Once I learned about the volunteer options Summit Park offers I knew that I wanted to be a part of the volunteer program.  In high school, I was involved in several volunteer projects, but I never worked with an organization on a yearlong project.  I was excited to apply to live in Summit Park, but even more excited after my group met with the Salvation Army Volunteer Coordinator to find out about all the different services that we could do to help.  Some of the different services include working the food pantry, the after school program, office work/ setting up community events, bell ringing and gift drive during Christmas time, the thrift store, and simply spreading the word about the Salvation Army.  The way that our group is going to get the Drury Campus and other surrounding college campuses involved is by starting a clothing drive or food drive.  I chose to live in Summit Park, because I knew that it would be a great volunteer experience that I would never forget.  After the year is over, I will know that I have helped benefit the people involved or connected with the Salvation Army.  I hope to gain several memories from this experience.  I also want to be able to get many people around the campus involved and encourage people to volunteer.  Volunteering is an experience that makes a person feel extremely thankful for what he or she has.  I also hope to gain and increase my leadership skills while giving back to the community.
This week was our first week to begin volunteering.  Mariah, Erica, and I are volunteering Wednesdays at the food pantry.  Katie is volunteering Fridays assisting the with the Salvation Army’s PR and marketing to build awareness about the multiple opportunities they provide.  My first experience volunteering made me realize how important the food pantry is to people who are struggling with the hard economic times today.  My volunteering skills not only benefit the Springfield community, but also the people that work at the Salvation Army.  The woman that is in charge of the food pantry just recently lost her husband, and during the time she was off the food pantry became disorganized.  So when we volunteered, we helped organize the food pantry and stocked the shelves with more food for next Wednesday.  While helping at the food pantry, we stocked shelves, packed food sacks, and passed out the sacks to people in need.  I am excited to go back next Wednesday to volunteer!

Stay classy Drury University,

Haleigh



Hi!  My name is Erica Ramsey and I am a sophomore here at Drury.  I am currently a pre-med student and Biology major.  I plan on graduating Drury and continuing on to a medical school where I will specialize in pediatric oncology.  I am involved in several organizations here on campus including SUB, DVC, Ambassadors and ALD. 

I really wanted to live in the Summit Park Leadership Community because it was a great way to further develop my leadership skills while giving back to the community.  I was so excited to be able to pick the organization to work with for an entire year.  In the past, when I have volunteered I may spend a few hours with this organization and a few hours with another.  I think that it is going to be an extremely enriching experience to build a relationship with the Salvation Army.  We are going to be able to get to know the people that we are working with, as well as those that benefit from our volunteering.   While living in Summit, I am going to have to learn how to be a leader of the parts of the project that I am responsible for, and also work on being a team player.  I think that I will learn how to be organized, work on time management, and work with others.  I will learn how to work with people with different personalities, and learn how to apply what I learned in the “What’s Your Color?” experiment!  I have already learned so much by living here with my amazing roommates, and can’t wait for the rest of the year!     

 The organization that we adopted for the year is the Salvation Army.  Haleigh, Mariah, Katie, and I picked the Salvation Army because of all of the different projects and volunteer opportunity that the organization offers throughout the year.  We thought that this would be a great organization for us to be involved in that would allow the four of us to find a volunteer opportunity that catered to our individual majors.  We also heard that the Salvation Army is always in need of more volunteers outside of their Christmas season.  Some of the things that we are planning on helping with this year are the weekly food pantry, the after school kids program, and the Christmas season.  I am really excited to start volunteering with the Salvation Army and gaining great experiences and memories!

While on the subject of the Salvation Army, Mariah, Haleigh, and I volunteered there for the first time today!  We went and helped organize, stock, and pack bags of food for the food pantry.  We would pack the bags and then people would line up to get their monthly ration of food.  It was really rewarding, eye-opening, and we had a ton of fun.  We can’t wait to go back and do it again next week!

I can’t wait to see what October has in store for us! Until next time.
-Erica



My name is Mariah Fulbright and I am a member of the Salvation Army Summit Park group. I am a sophomore at Drury University, and am working toward an Elementary Education major and a Psychology minor. I was extremely involved in high school with several clubs and I also participated in some volunteer opportunities. As a freshman at Drury, I wanted to make it a goal to be active in more volunteer work. I was successful at joining clubs, but at the end of my first year, I felt that I was lacking in volunteer experiences. When I began thinking about housing options for my sophomore year, I knew the only place I wanted to live was Summit Park. I knew that I would be willing to do anything in order to live in Summit Park.
I have been living in Summit Park for a little over a month, and I love it more and more every day. It is an extremely luxurious place to live and I feel even more on my own now that I am out of the dorms. However, Summit is not only great because of the living place, but it is also a wonderful learning experience as well. It is my first time living on my own, where I have to buy groceries, cook, and clean without my parents’ help. I feel that Summit has made me even more responsible. The amazing girls I live with and I have a good cleaning system that takes place every other Friday. We all take an area to clean and get it done in no time. I chose to live in Summit because I love a good challenge. It was definitely a challenge to be chosen to live here. My group knew we had to come up with a project that would grab the board’s attention. A lot of people I knew found out what all it took to live here and said forget it. Some did not even know the extent of it, but saw the application and decided to settle for a different housing plan. However, my group and I were determined to live in Summit. We worked hard to ensure that our project would win over the board and I would say that we definitely earned living here.
Summit Park has already changed my life and for the better. There is such an incredible intrinsic reward that comes with volunteering. In our project, thus far, I have only volunteered once, but after I left all I could think about was getting back to the Salvation Army to help more people. On Wednesday, I helped in the Food Pantry and it was a real eye-opening experience for me. I witnessed the various individuals or families that came through with a ticket in exchange for a sack of food. It made me sad to think that I ever thought my life was hard if I was going through a stressful time because, in all reality, I have it so good compared to those in desperate need of a few meals each week. It was hard for me to see the people come through with a huge smile on their face because they now have a few meals to get them through to the next Wednesday. I left feeling like I made a difference in a few people’s lives by just simply placing a paper bag in their arms. The experiences I hope to gain through Summit Park is leadership experience, getting along with people who obtain different personalities, and building more people skills with the employees at Salvation Army and the people we benefit there as well.
            Our project is right on track at this point in the year. I am looking forward to volunteering for the Salvation Army in any way they can use my roommates and I. We chose a great non-profit organization to work with. As of now, my group has met with our advisor (Dr. John Taylor) of Summit and also our volunteer coordinator (Audrey Esther). She is extremely excited about the plans that our Summit group has to help out with the Salvation Army. Every Wednesday, Haleigh, Erica, and I are going to go help with the Food Pantry. Every Friday, Katie is going to help Audrey with her work that she has dealing with Public Relations. The Salvation Army workers are thankful for us, and all of our ideas to help them out throughout the year. I am anxious for Christmas time because Audrey told us that they would need our help a lot around Christmas time. She said that there would be several things that need to be done. I can already tell that it is going to be a great year in Summit Park 1315.

Yours truly,
Mariah Fulbright



The minute I learned about the Summit Park Community at Drury I knew I wanted to be a part of it.  I have volunteered ever since I was in middle school.  I particularly spent a great deal of time volunteering in high school.   Therefore, volunteering in college was a given for me.  Summit Park seemed like the perfect opportunity.  The fact that Summit gives students the opportunity to come up with their own projects was particularly appealing to me.  I could spend my time volunteering for a cause that I felt was worthwhile.  It didn’t take too long for our group to decide which organization we wanted to work with.  I feel the Salvation Army was a great choice for our group, and I was so excited to learn that we were chosen to be a part of Summit Park.
I truly believe my experiences that I will have through volunteering with Summit will be real eye-openers.  We will be working closely with those in the Springfield community who are struggling to meet their basic needs.  I live a life of luxury.  I live in a beautiful Summit house, I have a wonderful family, shoes on my feet, and I have plenty of food in my fridge.  Seeing the people that utilize the services of the Salvation Army will truly open my eyes to reality and make me realize how lucky I am.  I know I take many things for granted and I hope this experience makes me appreciate my wonderful life more often.  On a different note, I possibly want to work for a non-profit organization someday and by volunteering with a national non-profit, I feel I will gain many experiences that will be beneficial for my future.
So far we are right on track with our project and have run into no issues.  This week was our first week of volunteering!  All four of us are volunteering a few hours every week.  Mariah, Haleigh, and Erica are starting out helping with the food pantry on Wednesdays while I am working with our community advisor on Fridays to assist the Salvation Army with their PR and marketing in order to build awareness about all of the wonderful services they provide.  I am excited to begin volunteering and learning the ropes at the Salvation Army.

Katie Battalia