A COLUMN CONNECTING WOFFORD STUDENTS TO THE INNER SPARTANBURG COMMUNITY —

With the start of the new semester, every Wofford student has experienced some sort of changes to their everyday environment. Yes, even as a third or fourth year student on campus, there are some new tricks to the trade—but only for the better. Grasping on this concept of changes within our campus community, there are also changes happening right outside of the front gates of Wofford. Despite some of the negatives that are associated with the community that sits in front of our campus, there are several initiatives that are being put in place to make it more of a community friendly atmosphere and to engage individuals like ourselves to be more civically engaged and serve the community that we live in; this is what we call civic engagement.

S2S: Students to Service is a column that is designed to plug interested service and civic-minded students such as ourselves into the community around us to make us not only well-rounded, but also to trigger our minds of the concept of being civically engaged to prepare us for life after college.

If you’re new to this whole concept of service and service learning, ask yourself a couple of questions to decipher what it means to be civically engaged. What is the definition of service? How can I make a difference in the community? What are my interests and can I find these within the community? What groups within the community are focusing on my interests?

Whether your interests may lie here in the United States or in another country, try to take advantage of the opportunity to give back to a community if you haven’t already. By being involved in service, you’re not only making a difference in a community, but are also impacting the lives of others around you.

So, are you ready to take the next step? Looking to get involved but don’t know where to start? There are plenty of ways to do so! S2S will guide you to resources each issue of the Old Gold & Black, but there are also on-campus resources that are available if you’re looking to get connected, such as the Center for Global and Community Engagement office, clubs and organizations who are service based or even professors who have courses that are connected to the Spartanburg community.

Explore your options, make connections and decipher what service means to you. Hopefully by doing so, you will be able to make a difference within the community and impact the lives around you.