2023 Holiday Wonder at the Garden

How did your direct service benefit members of the broader community?
Overall, I feel that my service helped those in the broader community by really helping the people really get a chance to appreciate the nature they were surrounded by. My job was taking pictures for those walking around helping them find spots to take the pictures and making sure they they could have everyone they wanted in these photos. Me being there not only helped the families build bonds closer to themselves as one of the members was not left out of the photo, but it also helped them see some cool places to take pictures in some really pretty parts of the garden that they otherwise would not have seen. It was very rewarding the entire time getting to see the smiles on their faces.


Which population did you serve, and what was their reaction to you/your group being there?
I served that the Memphis Botanic Gardens during their Holiday Wonder at the Gardens Event Which serves anyone who comes in the Memphis Area. The guests walk through the garden and see all of the beautiful Light displays on the trees, bushes, and other plants in the garden. Me and the group I was stationed with were around the walkways helping people who were trying to take pictures of themselves with their families. Whenever I came up to people to ask they would like me to take the pictures for them they were always extremely happy and grateful for someone to take their picture. I tend to see that someone in the family ends up not being able to be in a photo because someone has to take the picture, but the simple act of just having someone to take the photo so they could have a family photo made their Christmas a little brighter and a little merrier which is all I could really ask for and it honestly made my day.

What skills did you develop or improve through your direct service?
The skill I developed the most during this was getting over the awkwardness of just going up to someone and asking if they would like help. My personal skills are not always the best and this helped me a lot with just going up to someone and talking. If hadn't gotten over my awkwardness with going up to people, I would have not been able to help anyone during the time I was there. I also think I got a little better at taking pictures and working with kids in pictures during this. I had to use a lot of different phones and cameras throughout the process and I wanted to make sure people got good photos, so I ended up learning a little on taking photos with different devices. Furthermore, taking pictures with little ones is always fun because you have to find ways to keep them looking at the camera so I did a little learning with that too.

Did you work individually or as part of a team during your service? How did that impact your experience?
I did work in a team of about 3 people which overall made the experience better. It was a bit cold out so it really helped to be with other people during the slower parts of the night just to have someone to talk to and hang out with so you can get your mind off the cold. Furthermore, when we were busy it was way easier to help people when there is more than 1 person. Even with the three of us there were still times we couldn't help everyone so we just did what we could, but having more did definitely helped some.

Do you plan to continue volunteering with this organization? Why or why not?
Yes I do. This is because first they are close to campus and and were really easy to work with. I really enjoyed being out in nature and helping people where I could. Seeing the joy in peoples eyes and seeing the little kids be filled with the joy of the holidays honestly just makes me smile and laugh right along with them. It was to the point that I didn't feel like I was serving anyone. I was just there and I think that is the way service should be.