My essay was chosen for the student spotlight for St. Pete Colleges Social Science newsletter January to February edition. What does Civic Engagement mean to our students? What are they doing as part of their engagement in the community? We heard from some students about that! The next essay is a sample of what SPC students are doing to impact the community through their civic engagement. My Civic Engagement by Ernest Gant What does civic engagement mean to me? Simply put, civic engagement means that my volunteering comes from my heart. For instance, I was engaged in volunteering to help people advance in life by being a member of the Men Achieving Excellence Club (MAX) and Phi Theta Kappa (PTK). Through my involvement with these clubs, I had the opportunity of assisting inner city kids with their homework in after school programs. But my volunteering does not stop there. I also enjoy giving some of my time to help with the Mentoring Midtown, Habitat for Humanity and Relay for Life. I firmly believe that programs like these build up the Saint Petersburg’s community. To begin with, Mentoring Midtown is a joy to do because I am helping kids succeed in school academically. Mentoring Midtown was started by Andrew Vilchez, who is PTK’s president. Like Andrew, I men- tor kids from Boys and Girls Club for three hours at Saint Petersburg College Midtown campus. This activity exposes me to a wide range of diverse group of kids who are working to achieve the same goals. Again, I believe that the end result of Mentoring Mid- town is the strengthening of the surrounding community. Similarly to Mentoring Midtown, the time I spent volunteering for Habitat for Humanity was a great experience for me. As most people know, Habitat for Humanity builds houses for less fortunate families. My volunteer job with Habitat for Humanity was of hanging doors and installing the door knobs in the new house. For the most part, it gave me a sense of pride to work with the homeowner. Ultimately, I felt very blessed to have a chance to improve the life of a family in our community. Lately I have been volunteering at the Relay for Life, which is comparable to Habitat for Humanity because both pro- grams help people in need. As an example of an activity that I am involved at the Relay for Life is the one that includes all college clubs. At this event, all clubs walk around the track to promote cancer awareness. My contribution in this event is simple but meaningful. I put the names of people who died of cancer in the bags with candles around the track to the lighting ceremony. My participation in the Relay for Life has as personal significance to me because every time I am there, walking around the track, I remember my aunt who died of cancer. To sum it all up, my experiences as a volunteer with the Mentoring Midtown, Habitat for Humanity and the Relay for Life have given me a sense of pride. I know that I have helped to change lives through do- nating some of my time. Volunteering is somewhat new to me. But it has been a significant opportunity in my life because it gave me a chance to do some civic engagement in my community. I can say now that civic engagement means that I am passionate in helping people, in my community, achieve the best in life. *** Ernest Gant is a certified nursing assistant who wants to explore other career options. This is the main reason Ernest has enrolled at St. Petersburg College. Ernest wants to have his own business one day. Ernest is a father and he wants to be a positive role- model to his children by having a strict work ethic, in both his college work and on the job. His philosophy of life is one that emphasizes the pursuing of his goals in order to reach success. Student Spotlight
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 18:52:36 +0000
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