Over the course of the semester, we’ve analyzed the ins and outs of active citizenship. We’ve looked at questions like “What defines an active citizen?”, “How can we develop ourselves as active citizens?”, and “How can we use the skills and knowledge we learn to better help the communities around us?” We’ve looked at the opinions of others regarding active citizenship, and analyzed their thoughts to help form our own. We’ve learned about the different stages of being an active citizen, and how one can progress through those stages to become engaged and involved. Perhaps most importantly, we’ve learned that the characteristics of an active citizen are not only useful when engaging in community service, but in nearly all aspects of life, whether it be achieving goals, networking, or reflecting for self-improvement. Learning how to be an active citizen not only helps one’s community, but also oneself.

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            One of the ways to “measure” active citizenship is on the Active Citizenship Continuum. The Continuum is divided into four parts: Member, Volunteer, Conscience Citizen, and Active Citizen, each of which we briefly defined in class. A Member recognizes issues, but doesn’t consider how to act; he or she identifies problems and social injustices existent within their community, but does not take steps towards resolving them. A Volunteer begins to try and tailor their service and actions to the needs of the population; they seek out more information about the problems within their community, and then begin to try and meet the needs necessary to resolve them. A Conscientious Citizen looks beyond the issue; he or she looks at the issue from different perspectives, and begins to investigate why the issue has arisen in the first place. An Active Citizen, the highest category on the continuum, seeks out experiences and employment related to the issue; he or she dedicates the majority of their time towards research, advocation, and engagement, and is willing to take matters into their own hands.

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            One of my favorite stories we’ve read this semester is also a great example of progression along the continuum. It’s the story of Mary Pipher, titled “Reluctant Activists.” Pipher tells of how she started out aware but ill-informed - a Member. She knew issues regarding the environment existed, but was not actively looking for a way to combat them. She then read Bill McKibben’s Eaarth, and her perception completely changed. In her own words, she “realized that I [Pipher] wasn’t doing enough.” Pipher then began to act as a Volunteer. She began to research threats to the environment, and eventually came across the Keystone XL pipeline, a proposed project that would stretch a 1200-mile oil pipeline through the Western United States. Pipher saw this as her opportunity to make a difference, and began acting as a Conscientious Citizen. She organized a meeting first amongst friends she thought could help, and then expanded to others in her community interested in aiding the cause. She recruited everyone from farmers to lawyers to scientists, and listened to their individual views and perspectives on why the pipeline was an issue and how to go about stopping it. She then worked her way to an Active Citizen by organizing movements and protests to express their discontent with the pipeline, and in January 2012, President Obama denied an initial permit to the pipeline constructors, citing the governor who Pipher and her activists voiced their concerns to as a factor in his decision.

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            I see Pipher’s story as a great representation of the continuum for two big reasons. First, it shows how progression along the continuum is realistic and attainable. Pipher starts out all the way at the bottom, but in a relatively short period of time, she works her way all the way to the top and makes a lasting impact on her community. To this day, the Keystone XL pipeline does not go through the Sandhills of Nebraska. Second, Pipher shows that advancement along the continuum results from education and passion. As Pipher educates herself about the Keystone pipeline, she’s able to take more effective action that will have a direct impact towards the solution she’s trying to achieve. And this desire to learn more and create change stems from her passion to make a difference.

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            While the continuum is a great way to quasi-quantify a person’s active citizenship, being an active citizen isn’t just textbook doing what the continuum defines as a category. An active citizen is composed of characteristics and traits that push him or her to take action that moves them along the continuum. These traits don’t have to be native, they can be adapted or learned, and one of the most important ones, that’s also easy to pick up, is asking questions. Asking questions helps us develop a deeper understanding of our motive for doing service, the issue we’re passionate about, and of how we can work towards a solution.

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            In a portion of his reading What We Don’t Talk About When We Don’t Talk About Service, Adam Davis discusses the question “Why do we serve?” Davis narrows it down to the five fundamental reasons people serve: “(1) we are God’s children; (2) we share the earth; (3) I find myself in you; (4) I win praise by serving you; (5) I suck.” Reasons people serve are like stories – while each one may have different characters, settings, and dialogue, each plotline can be broken down into one of the handful of fundamental plots.

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            Some of these reasons definitely may seem a little farfetched or strange, especially out of context; “I suck,” for example. While the wording is unconventional, this reason boils down to doing service because you feel bad about yourself. It could be because you’re unhappy with who you are as a person, because you feel guilt for a previous action, or some other reason you’re thinking “I suck,” but at the end of the day, you’re doing service because you’re attempting to boost your own self-confidence and find self-affirmation.

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            “I win praise by serving you” is another reason that may catch people off guard. How you benefit from the service you provide seems like a taboo subject in the world of community work, and while performing service for praise may not be the most beneficial motive, wanting to take something away from your service is not a bad thing. In fact, asking “What will I take away from this experience?” is one of the most important questions to pose to yourself. Community service offers a chance to explore different regions, lifestyles, and cultures. To experience all of that and not pick up a skill, or learn a lesson or two, would be an opportunity wasted. Through these experiences you can not only broaden your own horizons and perspectives, but you can also take what you learn and use it to provide better service in the future. And at the end of the day, there’s hundreds of types of community service to be a part of, and each one helps a group of people in need. Choosing one that you personally find interesting, or feel you will benefit from, is not selfish.

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            Another important question to ask ourselves is “Does my service benefit those I’m intending to help?” While our intentions may be good, the “community service” we provide can actually end up harming the people we are trying to help. Voluntourism is a prime example of this. Voluntourism is when a person volunteers abroad, hoping to provide beneficial community service while also exploring a foreign country or culture. Unfortunately, the service provided through voluntourism is often subpar, and can also create a harmful environment within the community. An article from The Guardian details how volunteers’ desire to service abroad has resulted in orphanages becoming a “booming business.” The author states “those ‘orphans’ might have been bought from impoverished parents, coerced from loving families or simply rented for the night” (Birrell). In an article published by themuse, journalist Natalie Jesionka writes about how “The critiques are valid…from crumbling libraries to brothel rescues gone wrong, good intentions can create a lot of problems for communities.” While it’s great to want to do good, it is most important to make sure that the “good” you hope to do actually helps the community you’re engaging with.

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            After asking themselves the above questions, an active citizen analyzes his or her answers and then begins to plan actions accordingly. In order to turn these plans into reality and make the change they’ve been avidly working towards, an active citizen must possess leadership skills. Leadership is a characteristic that’s commonly misunderstood – with modern day leaders often solely looking out for themselves and their personal interests, ie politicians, the word “leadership” has developed quite the negative connotation over the last few decades. Some people, such as Block, are in favor of abolishing the idea of leadership all-together, claiming “The era of leadership is over.”

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            This perception of leadership could not be farther from what leadership really is. Leadership is not “I above all else” it’s “What can I do for all else?”. I feel that Kouzes sums up the definition of true leadership phenomenally in his reading Leadership is Everyone’s Business. He states “Leadership is not about organizational power or authority. It’s not about celebrity or wealth…And it’s definitely not about being a hero. Leadership is about relationships, about credibility, and about what you do.” Leadership isn’t about power or recognition, it’s about having integrity, keeping your word, and doing not what is in your best interest, but what is in your community’s best interest. An active citizen leads not to be admired, but because they’re passionate about the well-being of those around them, and are willing to dedicate great time and effort to ensure their community can thrive.

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            Now that we have a fundamental understanding of active citizenship, we can begin to look for it in day to day life. As an institution that places great emphasis on community service and serving others, Virginia Tech is full of active citizens around every corner. There’s the organizers of The Big Event, the VT Engage staff, and professors that host relevant community service projects, to name a few. Virginia Tech is leaps and bounds ahead of other universities when it comes to not only promoting a life of service, but offering opportunities for its students to learn how to be active citizens themselves. Through Living Learning Communities like SERVE, positions like Step-Up Leaders, and classes that teach effective community engagement, Virginia Tech offers students all the tools they need to work towards becoming an active citizen. While Ut Prosim may be viewed as only a motto to some, Tech does a great job of showing students how it can be adopted as a way of life, and that there are many great benefits to doing so.

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            However, we must also remember that a true master is one that never stops learning. Virginia Tech is a pioneer of community engagement because they are constantly evolving and improving the ways in which active citizenship is present and taught around campus. I believe a great way to further encourage students to get involved and work towards becoming active citizens is by offering more information about organizations that host community service trips, ie VT Engage. As a member of SERVE I’ve learned a lot about the program and the opportunities it offers, but if I was not been a member of my Living Learning Community, my current knowledge would only be from a handful of emails about the spring break trips.

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            People are hesitant to get involved with things they don’t know much about. I can testify this personally – when I was looking to attend an IEC Event, there were several I found intriguing, but they were all hosted at cultural centers, such as the Black Cultural Center or the Hispanic Cultural Center. I’m not trying to insinuate these centers would not be welcoming to me in the slightest, I’m sure they are run by amazing people and who hold equally as great events. But not knowing much about the centers themselves, such as what the atmosphere is like, what the event set-up would be like, or if it I would be like a newcomer going to a gathering where it’s usually the same group of friends, deterred me from attending an event at one of these locations.

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            I feel that this mindset may also be present in those interested in VT Engage. They may really like a certain service trip being offered, but are hesitant to attend because they don’t know much about the organization or the people. However, I also think this mindset can easily be remedied through a little bit of community outreach.

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            Tabling on the drill field is a great way to reach the student body, as nearly everyone crosses the drill field at least once a day. By handing out pamphlets or fliers that explain a little bit about VT Engage as an organization, talking with students about community service they’re interested in, and offering contact information for someone who can get them further involved, I believe we can not only greatly increase the number of students who attend the service trips, but also diversify where those students come from as well, as currently many volunteers are those somehow associated with the organization.

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            I also think holding “flash seminars” about VT Engage and community service would have a similar effect. At these brief 45 minute seminars, we would briefly discuss how to perform effective community service, common mistakes that can harm a community, and how VT Engage promotes service that benefits the communities the organization works with. This would offer interested students to interact directly with VT Engage staff, learn more about the organization, and have an opportunity to feel more comfortable working with the organization.

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            Looking back at my own community service and active citizenship experience, I can definitely notice a distinct progression of myself along the continuum. My volunteer work as an EMT is service that specifically comes to mind.

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            Back in eighth grade, I started out as a member. Basically, I existed in my community. I was interested in the medical field, but was not actively seeking opportunities to be involved in it. Then, my freshman year of high school, I transitioned to a volunteer when I joined my town’s Junior Fire & EMS Program. Each Monday night we would meet and drill with either the firefighters and EMTs, learning about the various medicines, fire-fighting techniques, and other skills involved in the professions. Three years later, I applied for and got approved to attend EMT school. Here we learned the physiology behind different illnesses and injuries, and the appropriate ways to treat each. I learned more about the root causes of why my patients were in pain and why the treatments we provided worked, and by looking beyond the immediate issues I became a conscientious citizen. Now, I’m looking to become an official volunteer with my town’s EMS Squad, and am scheduling a meeting with the Chief to discuss the final bits of my paperwork. By seeking employment that involves the work I’m passionate about, along with taking continuing education about the issue, I’ve become an active citizen.

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            This semester, my views on volunteer work have changed greatly. The topics we’ve discussed in class have really changed my perspective on what actually makes volunteer work beneficial to the community involved, and have also taught me to consider factors that often get pushed to the wayside. I think the most eye-opening experience for me was when we discussed how community service is also about what you, and that it’s important that you take away something from the experience as well. Prior to this, I never considered that I should be factoring myself into my service. I thought that only the receiving end mattered. When we discussed how you can take what you learn from a service experience and use it to better the service you provide in the future, I realized that taking something away from community service is actually the opposite of selfish, and can help even more people down the line.

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            Next semester, I plan to further my progress down the path of active citizenship by applying to be a Step-Up Leader. Being a Leader will give me the opportunity to lead a trip for an issue I’m passionate about, and hopefully inspire others to be passionate about it as well. Currently I hope to do something with military veterans and the lack of care and support they receive after they retire. I also plan to really take advantage of the Community Systems Thinking class. This course offers an opportunity to really develop my problem-solving skills and dive below the surface to identify the root of a problem, skills that will be beyond helpful when looking for a solution to a community-identified issue.

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Ian Birrell, Before you pay to volunteer abroad, think of the harm you might do, The Guardian

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/nov/14/orphans-cambodia-aids-holidays-madonna

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Natalie Jesionka, The Reality of Voluntourism and the Conversations We're Not Having, The Muse

https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-reality-of-voluntourism-and-the-conversations-were-not-having