Meighan McGowan

At our meeting we planted seeds and learned about the impact we have on the Earth. It is important to give back to the planet we live on because we take so much from it to live and survive the way we do. We did service to the Earth by planting the seeds and hopefully our plants grow up to provide oxygen and good nutrients back into the environment. I thought that this project was very inventive and I look forward to many more with NRHH.

I coordinated a program with my residents of the DeHority Complex and the Honors Living Learning Community to write letters to the residents of Bethel Pointe. During the program, the residents thought the idea was very sweet and had a lot of fun creating them. They liked the idea of having a service program within the hall. After the program, I delivered the cards to Bethel Pointe and spoke with the residents while also helping to decorate their dining hall for the Valentine's Day Dance on Thursday. It was great to speak with the residents I was serving and to help connect the experience back to Ball State. They liked be able to talk with young people about their lives just starting and it was refreshing to get out into Muncie and give back rather than being on campus all day.

I coordinated a program with my residents of the DeHority Complex and the Honors Living Learning Community to write letters to the residents of Bethel Pointe. During the program, the residents thought the idea was very sweet and had a lot of fun creating them. They liked the idea of having a service program within the hall. After the program, I delivered the cards to Bethel Pointe and spoke with the residents while also helping to decorate their dining hall for the Valentine's Day Dance on Thursday. It was great to speak with the residents I was serving and to help connect the experience back to Ball State. They liked be able to talk with young people about their lives just starting and it was refreshing to get out into Muncie and give back rather than being on campus all day.

We created socks with essential oils and rice inside of them and then tied off to be an effective handwarmer. The idea of this is to heat it up in the microwave and it becomes a warm bag to put in a coat pocket during the winter months. This is not something I have ever heard of doing for students or people who could need them on their walk to work or anywhere else. I think it is a wonderful way to get out into the community and pass something out that is worthwhile in this weather, especially as it continues to get colder out. I am so glad I was able to make something like this and also get to know the people of NRHH while I did it. I would most definitely recommend this activity to anyone looking to do service this winter.

At Trunk or Treat, I worked alongside my sisters inside the community center playing games with children and handing out prizes. The event was very well-organized and I loved being at the ring toss because it was a game that children of all ages could play. The children were very sweet and excited that it was Halloween. I spent the night asking what their costume was, and I got some very interesting and awesome answers. Overall, I enjoyed my experience volunteering with the Ross Community Center. I am glad I got to make children smile for the night and provide them a safe place to celebrate Halloween.

This experience was a wonderful way to get out into Muncie and help the environment. I went with a group of staff members from my residence hall and we spent the time picking up trash alongside the pathways manicured by Cardinal Greenways. It was a great way to let us see how letting one piece of trash sit in the grass accumulates over time and can destroy the environment. It was also interesting to see the kind of litter that was distributed around the pathway and understand a little bit more about Muncie. There was a lot of fast food and wrappers remnants, which is reflective of the city and what they are consuming. In the end, I am glad I got to assist with this project and I hope to come back to make more efforts in the future.

I went with Ball State University Housing and Residence Life during our Student Staff Orientation to prepare for the upcoming school year as an Academic Peer Mentor. We helped sort food and picked out what was good or not to keep the produce fresh for longer. The workers also showed us the facility and explained how it impacts the Muncie community and surrounding areas to have this food bank for families that have difficulty supporting themselves. It was amazing to take some time to help them out and understand a community that I am not personally apart of. I would gladly go back again to assist with such an important cause.

I went to Hinkle-Garton with a group for the UIFI summer program for Greek students and we helped cut down invasive species plants to support the natural foliage of Southern Indiana. We spent time dragging the dead plants to the burn pile and learned about what impact they have on the environment. It was interesting to learn about the historical significance of the property and how Bloomington has been able to benefit from having this organization teaching the public about America's plant life. I enjoyed my time at the garden, especially being someone who is outside often in nature, and I took a lot of the information back into my own life and experiences.