Community Engagement

Fred Rogers (my television friend as a child and hero as an adult) carried a note in his wallet: Life is for service. While I believe life is for a great many things, I believe that service—when it is understood that service is mutually beneficial to all parties involved—makes life more meaningful and full.

In my community in Asheville, I’ve worked with a Cuban family as an ESOL and civics tutor, helping two students achieve American citizenship, and learning more about immigration, other cultures, and my own country in the process.

Through my job at UNC Asheville I became involved with the university’s Prison Education Program, serving as a volunteer Study Hall Instructor. I’m still grappling with the lessons I gained about incarceration and the prison system in the United States through my interactions with the students in that program.

I currently volunteer as a Big Sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC, mentoring a Little who teaches me more about joy, adventurousness, and compassion every time we’re together. Together, at her request, we’ve started volunteering with a local animal rescue, where I now also serve as a dog foster.