Helping those far, those near & those at home by Jake Meyer, Tessa Kester, and Zac Barger

August 31, 2010  
Filed under Student Life

     There are hundreds of students currently attending Grand Junction High School, but only a handful of these students are willing to spend their summer volunteering their time to helping others instead of themselves.  Many students go on vacations, get a job or simply waste their summers away.  However, several students sacrificed their summers for people in need.

Those far

     There is help needed in many places outside the borders of the United States. Many people go and volunteer in these places to help bring them as good of a life as Americans experience. A student from GJHS decided to follow the footsteps of those others; he traveled several hundred miles outside the U.S. border to bring help and support to those not as fortunate.

     Alex Castle, senior, was determined to make a difference in the poverty stricken country of El Salvador.  He, along with GJHS senior Jake Meyer, two Fruita students and 10 adults, helped build an elementary school for underprivileged children.

     Castle explains that he wanted to go on the trip to meet people, get community service hours and make a difference for those in El Salvador.

     “The main reason (I went) was that I was tired of summer,” Castle said.  “I was frustrated with sleeping in until noon and wasting my life.  I felt I could make a difference.”

     Castle spent much of his time moving cinderblocks, mixing cement and painting at the construction site.  When he was not working at the construction site, he was meeting the community and learning about El Salvadorian culture. 

     He learned that despite the absence of materialistic possessions, there is no shortage of happiness among the people.

     “In the midst of extreme poverty, they manage to find happiness in every endeavor,” he said.  “They do not need a flat screen TV to find fulfillment.”

     Castle feels that this trip offers high school students the opportunity to learn about the world in a way that they never could in a classroom.

     “For ten days I was exposed to an entirely different environment where the problems I faced at home were inconsequential in comparison to the reality of these people’s lives,” he said.  “I would recommend this trip to anyone who wants this perspective.”

Those near

     People in America also need selfless volunteers to assist them when times get tough.  That is why many Americans choose to go on trips to places throughout the country that require the most assistance.  A group of GJHS students decided to lend their hands and hearts to a community in Texas that needed help after being struck by Hurricane Katrina five years ago.      

     17 GJHS students traveled to Texas for a mission trip with their church to help people who were affected by the hurricane.  The group included freshman, Shea Hardy and Kenzi Medina, juniors, Evan Duff, Jeffery Hansen, Anders Carlson, Kat Boelke, Garrett Fante, Ty Stewart, Andrew James and Tyler Wacker and seniors, Andrew Duff, Keenan Hall, Joey Frampton, Kamron Medina.  Joining them were Caitlin Young, Kirsten Hardy and Dakota Hutchinson who had graduated just this spring.

     Each student volunteered for four days and spent a total of 24 hours helping those in Texas who needed their aid.

     “Even though it’s been a few years (we helped with) touchups, painting and the final clean up for all the houses,” Evan Duff said.

     Duff also explains why service learning hours are important for a community.

     “If each person at GJHS contributes their time it will make a big difference in society,” he said.

     Duff not only volunteered his time in Texas but also spent time in a vacation bible school sports camp.  He was a coach and led the children through activities and taught them many different sports. 

     “Hanging out with the kids and getting to lead them (was my favorite part).  It is rare to interact with children younger than you,” Duff said.

     Hanson also attended the Texas Mission Trip.

     “It feels good to go back and see what a difference you (have) made in people’s lives.  I learned that if you give everything you have to others, (it) helps you feel like you’ve accomplished something,” he said.

     Although the group was not paid for their actions, Hansen did not mind the extra work.

“It’s still okay to work hard even though there is nothing for you,” Hansen said.

     Hansen says he feels better about the work that he did.

     “I felt pretty satisfied after the trip; I can’t say I would rather do anything else.  It beats sitting around here all day,” he said.

     Duff cannot help but agree.

     “It’s always nice to go somewhere and take a break from life, and it is much more worthwhile than other things you could do over the summer,” Duff said.

     Few students could feel the satisfaction of volunteering over the summer, but for those students who did experience it, there was nothing that could quite match it.

     “It’s the right thing to do.  Not everyone has the same opportunities or chances, and it is a great feeling helping others,” Duff said.

Those at home

     While some choose to volunteer away from home, there are plenty of people who need help here in our neck of the woods.  That is why Stephanie Moreno, senior, chose to volunteer here in Grand Junction.  She saw the need and knew that she was meant to volunteer at St. Mary Hospital’s Cancer Center.

     When Moreno was little, her mom had cancer.  “I would go with her for radiation treatments, and I saw all of the volunteers.  I knew I wanted to be like them,” Moreno said.

     Moreno has been volunteering for a little more than a year now.  She does a variety of different jobs at the hospital, including paper work and entertaining patients.

     “I help make the job easier for the people who work there, and it makes me feel better to help people who really need it,” she said.

     Through her work, Moreno meets a variety of people, both patients and doctors.  Occasionally, she will meet a patient that will become a friend.  She made friends with an ill man and the two became close acquaintances.

     I remember he always wore a blue astronaut suit when he came in for treatments.  I saw him every day with that American flag patch on his sleeve,” Moreno said.

     Reality came all too soon for Moreno when her new friend died halfway through his treatment. 

     “I couldn’t go in to work for a week,” she said.  “It was hard to even be there, where I had seen him daily (for so long).  It seemed impossible that someone could die there, but he did.”

     But even so, her volunteer work has inspired her to take a career in the medical field: a nursing job in a cancer center. 

     “It may not seem like much, but that environment really affects you,” Moreno said.

     Moreno plans to continue volunteering at the cancer center during the school year, even with the amount of stress that it adds. 

     “It’s a lot harder during the school year, but it’s still a good experience,” she said.

     She enjoys her volunteer work and thinks that others should volunteer as well. 

     “I think (the required service hours) is a good thing,” she said.  “Volunteering opens people up to new opportunities.  It helps them find something in themselves that they didn’t know was there.”

     For Moreno, volunteering has not only been a learning experience, but an enjoyable one, even when times were hard.

     “I’m really glad I do it,” Moreno said.  “The smiles on the patients’ faces are the best thing I can make happen, and it really makes it all worth it.”

Tags:

 Email This Post        Print This Post