Kiski Area High School
Senior? Yes
Elite top 100? Yes
Letters of recommendation: Letter of Recommendation 1, Letter of Recommendation 2
For the past seven years I have helped host game nights for the residents living at the care home, Rosebrook. This opportunity first opened up to me through friends that had been participating in hosting the game nights for a few years. The responsibilities included setting up tables for card and dice games, teaching the games to the residents, and helping them play. While playing the games, there is plenty of time to socialize with the residents there. Through these conversations, I have found ways to connect with people that I would not otherwise have connected with. Many of the residents are from a generation or participated in a war that I only learned about in a history class setting. The stories are incredible to listen to since the people I normally interact with have not lived through some of the impressive events that the residents of Rosebrook have. This means the residents can give advice for every situation imaginable. On the other end of the conversation, the residents truly enjoy the time to socialize and escape from the monotony of everyday life.
From these conversations I learn that there are people at Rosebrook from all over the world and with every background imaginable. This is the most important community service to me because I learn about lifestyles vastly different from mine, and I receive advice from people with perspectives different from mine as well. In modern society, most people stand firm in their own beliefs and ignore others’ perspectives. In working with the residents of Rosebrook, my eyes were opened to the parts of the world I did not see. These new perspectives change the way I see the world and leads to newfound motivation and inspiration which pushes me to continue helping those people that I interact with both through volunteering and also in everyday life.