Christopher Newport University’s students, including myself, make service and giving back one of our priorities. We are very involved with local organizations and doing our best to help others. CNU encourages service as a way for us to have relationships with the local community and not just make it a one-time thing. Through The Center for Community Engagement (CNU Engage) there is a Service Distinction program, where participants must serve a minimum of 140 hours. There are 10 tracks to choose from and we each select one to serve in. The service track I am in is Environment & Animals. We must complete 100 hours in that specific track and the remaining 40 hours can be in any other track of our choice. The 10 tracks are the following:
- Aging
- Arts & Culture
- Community Development
- Environment & Animals
- Health Related
- Hunger & Housing
- International Interest
- Newport News Public Schools
- Women’s Interest
- Youth Development
As it says on the CNU Engage website, this program allows students to “gain valuable, real-world, marketable skills and experience” and “develop skills related to policy development, program planning, and advocacy, while establishing a deeper understanding of societal issues and root causes.” This is truly a wonderful experience, especially if you love making an impact in your community. You can also make connections and life-long friendships. By serving in the community we become more aware of the reality of this world and we may learn to appreciate what we have more.
