Transcriber: Hallie Lawson Reviewer: Keira White
Hi, everybody, my name is Olivia Miller,
and I am a senior studying rehab science, here at the University of Pittsburgh,
and I’m super excited to be able to talk to you about how me
and the athletic department have worked together to help with community service
throughout our Covid year.
Do you ever just complete something and you feel
the adrenaline rush of that was my best work, that made me feel awesome,
or maybe it isn’t even something you complete,
but it’s something you do in this world that makes you tick?
You may think that it’s sticking the landing for me, but truly,
it’s community service.
Community service is much more than just serving those in our community.
Community service is a beautiful blend of building relationships,
spreading positivity and staying connected with those around us.
Community service is an essential part of everyone’s experience as a member
of the Pitt community.
Having the opportunity to touch the lives of those around us is so powerful.
Coming to Pitt, I was a Monroeville native, and I chose Pitt because
I absolutely love the opportunities here in the healthcare field,
and the connections with UPMC were unmatched.
Also, I was recruited here for gymnastics,
and I absolutely love the coaching staff and the team environment.
Upon arriving on campus my freshman year, I signed the Pitt promise,
which was pretty impressive that the university
has a code for all athletes that includes service to society.
The University of Pittsburgh is committed to the advancement of learning
and service to society and the Pitt promise quotes:
“I will contribute to the development of a caring community where compassion
for others and freedom of thought and expression are valued.”
My first impressions on community service began through athletics,
and a senior on my team brought me to my first ‘Pitt Make a Difference Day’.
I absolutely loved it and I wanted to become more involved.
So I branched out and I started engaging more
with the Pitt community through SAAC, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee,
and through our own team involvement.
As a student athlete, our schedule is already jam-packed with treatments
and practice and film studying and class and homework and study hours,
but adding community service on top of that,
really allows you to go that extra mile in giving back to the community.
Student athletes engage in community service
not because they are required,
but because they know they’ve been given gifts of opportunity,
and they want to be able to provide that for others.
So my junior year, I really wanted to expand
my involvement with the community,
and I became the SAAC Community Service Chair.
However, that was right when Covid hit,
and it really limited all of our in-person experiences.
But I wasn't going to let that impact the difference that we could make.
Over the summer, I helped out with Pitt Kids which was ran out
of the Education Department at Pitt,
and it was a program that allowed kids usually to come in
and have an activity day filled with games and learning
and a lot of other fun different games and things.
Well, that was all virtual and it was online through Zoom,
and that was really my first impression with virtual community service,
and it started to spark some ideas.
I had to really brainstorm and rethink everything.
I already knew about community service so when the fall came,
one of my first projects as the Community Service Chair
for SAAC was having a community service pamphlet
that we helped create with my subcommittee.
This pamphlet planned and sought out community service to do with Covid,
and it really answered that question of “I don’t know what to do?”
There’s nothing we can do because nothing’s in person.
It helped to create resources and ideas for community service
for both coaches and athletes.
Additionally, I encouraged all the student athletes to engage
with our app called Helper Helper.
This app is downloaded on all the student athletes’ phones,
and all they do is log the hours,
the days, and organization that they worked for community service,
and it’s put into this giant document that helps to organize
and keep track of all the hours
that student athletes had dedicated to community service.
Also, one of my goals this year was to have a community service plan
for each break that we had for student athletes.
Because student athletes are usually here over each break,
because we don’t usually go home, that had to be re-evaluated
when the university didn’t have breaks this year.
So, I came up with the idea to have team bubble community service events,
which helped to have in-person community service within each team.
So, over winter break, we usually have a giant toy wrapping
and gift wrapping drive,
but this year, because of Covid, we couldn’t do that
so I helped to organize the toy drive within the athletic department,
and then we wrapped the gifts individually within each team.
And then finally, we rounded out the year
by having community service through our Panthers’ Choice Awards,
which is an end of year banquet for all the student athletes to have.
I helped to organize and carry out
an encouragement card making activity that was prompted through a video
for all student athletes during the show.
All of these efforts culminated into becoming
the 2021 Helper Helper community service champions.
This award is awarded to the NCAA team
with the most community service hours logged on our app, Helper Helper.
It was basically like winning
the national championships in community service.
This was just a little bit of what
I sought out to do this year with community service,
and it taught me that there’s always a perfect time for community service.
But with everything that has happened within this past year,
there were so many people to help.
I often spend time reflecting
and thinking about how community service has impacted me,
and I always want to look at that bigger picture:
who can I help and where can I serve those around me?
It brings me joy every time I can bring a smile to someone’s face,
whether that means entering a room, or logging into a Zoom call,
or even just dropping off something at someone’s doorstep
it’s such a powerful way to show your love for others.
Whether we are at Pitt, across the country,
or in a different time zone across the world,
we are all one community.
Being one community is about helping each other out when needed,
being able to touch the lives of those around us is so powerful,
and it can ring farther than we ever could imagine.
The beauty of community service is that you never know how many people
you’re impacting, whether it’s your neighbor
or someone across the globe, you’re empowering someone else.
Community service isn’t bending over backwards,
it's just about lending a hand.
Learning leadership and being a positive impact is something
that I’ve learned throughout my time helping with community service,
and these are two things that really make me tick.
Finding a leadership role through community service has brought me
so much joy, and I hope that my passion is contagious to those around me.
Our world is surrounded by so many challenges
and a lot of negativity that it’s so important
that we are able to bring some positivity.
Engaging with those around me brightens my day,
and I hope that I can make someone else smile as well.
So, oftentimes I’m asked the question: Why do I do it?
Why should you do it?
Does what I contribute really make that big of a difference?
The answer to that is absolutely yes.
I do it out of my love for others
and my dedication to wanting to make a difference,
but you should do it because the impact you can make on this world is limitless.
You never know who you can help until you try.
It doesn't have to be a perfect 10, but you can make a difference.
I also wanted to spend time to share some of the lessons that I’ve learned
throughout my time helping with community service this past year.
Number one:
I saw that there are so many places to serve and they are sometimes
just under the tips of our noses.
Reaching out and making connections
is the best way to figure out what those around us need.
Start flipping through the internet and you’ll land somewhere you can help.
Adaptability is key and channeling your inner creativity
is a skill well worth learning.
I was always the kid who sat in art class in elementary school
and just stared at the paper not knowing what to do with it.
As someone who is an analytical, science-loving student,
there wasn’t really a creative bone in my body.
But working with my subcommittee and the athletic department this year
really helped me to tap into my inner creativity.
Also, sometimes doing community service is not about doing something physical,
like lifting a 40 pound stack of wood to build a house,
but it is sometimes as simple as taking the time to listen to people.
Oftentimes bringing a smile to a conversation
you are having can make someone else’s day.
We learn as much about ourselves
as we do about others when we engage with those who are different from us.
Also, community service has taught me so many lifelong skills.
Communication: being able to talk to others
and effectively communicate your intentions
or share your story with others.
Listening: taking the time to truly listen to the needs of others
and sometimes this is being vocal,
but many times it’s being non-verbal and reading a situation
and understanding body language.
Empathy: learning to feel another person’s emotions,
not to understand another person’s emotions.
This skill is really hard to learn, but throughout all of my experience,
it’s been something I’ve worked to develop.
I’ll use these skills long after my years here at Pitt,
because these skills not only prepare me for serving the community,
but they prepare me for anything I want to tackle in my life.
They’ve helped to change me long term by changing the way I look
and I work in a group atmosphere.
When I was younger, I used to want to take charge and actively lead a group,
now I’ve learned that it’s just as important
to sit back and listen to others.
This doesn’t mean that I can’t be a leader,
it just means that hearing the thoughts of others
is just as important as helping to carry out the tasks.
So, all of this to be said, what can you do to help?
Well, community service doesn’t have to be
an organized activity with hundreds of people,
it could be as simple as finding some trash right outside your neighborhood
and picking it up, asking your neighbor if you can mow their grass,
baking some cookies for the people in your community.
But what if you don’t know any organizations
or you’re not comfortable going somewhere? How can you get involved?
Again, community service doesn’t have to be done with a large organization.
It can be done in a small group or just by yourself.
Taking the time to look around the places closest to you
and assess the needs that need to be fulfilled
is really crucial in helping with community service.
Think about the places you go every day that could use some help,
such as the local pool might need some tree branches picked up,
or maybe you offer to babysit your neighbor’s kids
so the parents can go out for an evening,
or even just giving blood during a local blood drive.
These are all ways that you can help to get involved with your community.
Remember, anything that you can do is better than nothing,
and I promise whatever you choose to do, you will make a difference.
Although this year has been extremely challenging for everyone,
I found that there’s always a way to spread a little positivity
into the lives of those around us.
While it may have been challenging,
it was truly invaluable to see
the impact that community service can have on others.
Seeing a room light up when you enter is honestly
a feeling that cannot be replicated by anything else.
Again, community service has so many beautiful sides to it,
and I encourage everyone to find something that makes them tick.
Find something you’re passionate about and run with it.
Passion can take you so far
and you never know who you can influence through the kindness of your own heart.
Thank you.