SERVICE
I deeply believe that supporting people is a responsibility every person has to their community. Serving others has been among the most fulfilling and meaningful experiences of my life. The majority of my service has been providing mental and emotional support directly with individuals.
Suicide Prevention
Lines for Life, Oregon YouthLine trains teenagers to provide peer-to-peer youth crisis and support to people all over the world. While volunteering at YouthLine, people contacted me via email, text, call, or chat to talk through whatever crisis they were experiencing. YouthLine opened my eyes to the challenging experiences that kids my age and younger were facing and provided me a small but significant opportunity to support them. I learned how to rapidly adapt my approach to support a client’s particular needs. I also learned how to support my fellow YouthLine volunteers when they encountered difficulty. YouthLine taught me an essential lesson: all peoples' crises demand attention and support, no matter how small or insignificant they may feel it to be.
Special Needs
For over seven years, I have volunteered at a summer camp called Camp Yakety Yak designed for children with special needs. The camp’s goal is to provide an authentic summer camp experience for neurodivergent kids who are usually excluded from mainstream childcare programs. I progressed from a beginner high school volunteer, to a class instructor, to a provider of one-to-one aid to high risk kids, a volunteer trainer, and a leader of a specialized team to support campers with the greatest needs. The camp allowed me to help hundreds of kids enjoy a spectacular experience along with providing me a dynamic opportunity to demonstrate my leadership, empathy, compassion, and creativity.
Committee Work
Mental Health Task Force
Grinnell College | 2017-2018
Drawing from my experience volunteering with a suicide hotline, I became passionate about improving student mental healthcare accessibility and joined Grinnell College's Mental Health Task Force. As a student representative, I collaborated with college administrators, deans, counseling staff, faculty, and local mental health professionals during monthly meetings to develop and implement innovative solutions addressing student mental health challenges. I focused particularly on strengthening the relationship between the Student Health Center and the student body, advocating for more responsive and comprehensive mental health support services. My advocacy and commitment to improving campus mental healthcare led to my appointment as the Student Representative on the hiring committee for Grinnell's Health and Wellness Mental Health Administrator, where I ensured student perspectives informed this critical staffing decision.