it was a great experience to be able to help people move in. i had just moved in the day prior, so it was sort of a full circle moment.
Skills and Personal Development
What skills did you develop or improve through this service experience?
Skills I developed during this service experience include working as a group to operate the elevator and move students’ carts from the bottom to the top of the dorm building in the LLC. I also talked with people moving talking about what they did over the summer or what their cohort was. I also helped move empty boxes from the top floor to the bottom floor so they could be reused later.
Understanding and Awareness
What did you learn about the community or environment you served?
The community I served was understanding and kind. We all had the same goal to aid each other out. I also learned that we worked much quicker as a team rather than by ourselves. I talked with students and parents when they entered and left the elevator. Half of us were outside moving items into boxes and to the bottom of the elevator. The Memphis community knows how to help each other and talk well.
Relationships and Teamwork
Did you work individually or as part of a team, and how did that impact your
experience?
I worked as part of a team, I worked with people I have never before and it was great being able to meet and talk to them while we helped both students and parents. This event impacted my experience by getting to understand them better and why they wanted to help out. Working with others who shared the same objectives as me was great.
Organizational Impact and Alignment
Do you plan to continue volunteering with this organization? Why or why not?
I plan to continue volunteering with this organization next year. I enjoyed my time at the dorm with the combination of helping and talking with students and volunteers in and out the elevator. The staff was also nice and I felt full of stamina throughout the morning. I am excited to aid again next year and help new people move in.
Reflection and Improvement
What would you change about your approach to this service opportunity in the future?
I would change my approach to this service opportunity in the future by talking to more students and their parents during my volunteering. Giving them helpful discussions can go a long way. I believe that Memphis is a giant family that helps each other with challenges and achieves objectives.
How did this experience challenge your problem-solving abilities? There were many people who had a lot of items and sometimes the moving bins would break and we would have to fix them. Also having to figure out the most efficient way to fit all of the things from the cars into the bins so that we can get them to the rooms faster. What did you learn about the community or environment you served? I met a lot of new people and heard a lot of intersting stories and also met a lot of people from different states.Did you work individually or as part of a team, and how did that impact your
experience? I worked as part of a team which made everything go very smoothly. We had 3 people loading the bins and everyone else would have their bins loaded and go ahead and start taking the bins to the rooms.Do you plan to continue volunteering with this organization? Why or why not? Yes, it was very fun getting to know my peers and meeting people that I might not have met otherwise. What unexpected challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them? Definintly the bins breaking would be the unexpected challenge, but just changing the way that we would hold it and being mroe careful helped to keep it together.
Wonderful. Flowed very well! Traffic control could've been in place sooner, but it wasn't a major issue at all.
