Living Our Values Director - Reflective Essay.
Part 1: What?
My honors experiential learning project consisted of serving as the Living Our Values Director on Marathon Petroleum Company’s Intern/Co-Op Advisory Board (ICAB). This experience occurred during the Spring 2015 semester while I completed my co-op rotation in MPC’s Pipeline Engineering Department. ICAB is a leadership panel that consists of five elected positions: Chairperson, Living Our Values Director, Media Director, Know the Business Director, and Social Director. Throughout the semester, I met regularly with the four other ICAB members and our Human Resources advisor to organize work-related, social, and volunteer functions for all interns/co-ops at Marathon’s corporate office in Findlay, Ohio.
This experiential learning project fulfilled the Community Engagement thematic area. As the Living Our Values (LOV) Director, I was primarily responsible for organizing opportunities for the interns/co-ops to volunteer and get involved with the local Findlay community. The following are some of the organizations we worked with throughout the semester: Habitat for Humanity ReStore, Birchaven Retirement Home, Findlay Area Swim Team, Hancock County Relay for Life, and the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio.
The most significant part of this experience was the relationships that I formed with others during the semester. As the LOV Director, I participated in the majority of the ICAB-sponsored volunteer events as well as the social and work-related events. This allowed me to interact with most of the co-ops and various HR representatives. I especially enjoyed working at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore every Thursday evening with a small group of four or five co-ops. I had a lot of fun working with other co-ops and became close friends with co-ops in other departments by doing so.
Through completing this experiential learning project, I made progress towards the following learning outcome: possess awareness of purpose of service, including need for reciprocity, understanding of social issues, and ability to see those issues from multiple perspectives. By working closely with several volunteer organizations in Findlay, I gained a better understanding of the purpose of community service and the various opportunities to help others in the community. Working at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore gave me the chance to evaluate community service from multiple perspectives. ReStores accept donated home goods, such as home appliances, fixtures, and furniture, and sell these items to the community. The profits from these sales benefit the Habitat for Humanity and help pay for home builds and home repairs within the community. After learning about the ReStore’s business structure, I realize how beneficial this organization is to the community. Financially underprivileged families benefit indirectly from the ReStore’s work by receiving the services of Habitat for Humanity. In addition, families at all levels of financial income benefit directly by having access to home goods at low costs. The manager of the Findlay ReStore was especially compassionate and willing to help others. On several occasions, I witnessed him discussing prices with customers and agreeing to a price that the customer thought was fair and was able to afford.
I also made progress towards the following learning outcome: participate in community and understand own role as citizen of community. As the LOV Director, I participated in the MPC intern/co-op community and I served a leadership role within this community. Most of the co-ops working at Marathon are from out-of-town and have never worked in Findlay before. Because I was a returning co-op and I know how lonely a new town can feel, I really strived to reach out to other co-ops in order to make them feel welcome and to encourage them to participate in co-op events.
Part 2: So What?
During my first co-op term in Findlay, I wasn’t very involved in ICAB-sponsored events due to work obligations, and I quickly came to realize that being in a new town – especially a small town – can get pretty lonely and boring. Returning to Findlay for this co-op rotation, I wanted to help other co-ops make the most of their time in Findlay by encouraging them to participate in ICAB-sponsored events.
Prior to starting my experiential learning project, I read an article published through the University of Michigan titled “Benefits of Student Participation in Community Service,” which highlights various ways in which young adults can grow and develop through serving others. The article stated that people who participate in community service events experience better mental health, including reduced stress and feelings of depression. Those who participate in community service also experience more positive social relationships and feel more connected to their local community (“Benefits of Student Participation in Community Service”). After reading this article, I realized that serving as the LOV Director would be the perfect way to help other co-ops. I would be able to organize fun service events and build relationships with other co-ops through these events.
At the beginning of the semester, I contacted the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and organized weekly volunteering on Thursday evenings. Each week I went to the ReStore with about four or five other co-ops. Because the ReStore staff was so friendly and laid-back, we always had a great time helping out. I noticed that several more reserved co-ops who didn’t participate in the large social outings regularly signed up for the ReStore volunteering. I’m glad that I helped provide an opportunity for these co-ops to interact with other co-ops in a setting that fitted their personalities.
Serving as a member of ICAB was a great networking opportunity. The ICAB members have the opportunity to work with several Human Resources representatives and MPC employees from various departments. Because I am interested in completing my remaining two co-ops at Marathon and would like to pursue a full-time career at Marathon, this was a great opportunity for me to expand my professional network. If I complete another co-op rotation in Findlay, I hope to serve on the Intern/Co-op Advisory Board again in order to gain more leadership experience and to further expand my networking within the company.
Part 3: Now What?
Throughout the semester, I worked with several volunteer organizations including the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and the Birchaven Retirement Home. Although I have always been passionate about community service, I had never worked with these organizations or any organizations similar to these. However, because working with these groups was so fun and rewarding, I would like to seek out similar groups in Cincinnati.
During the semester, I shared my learning with my peers by maintaining a reflective blog on my honors website. Writing these blog posts gave me the opportunity to reflect upon the events I participated in and to consider the learning that had occurred along the way. I was able to dive further into my learning, analyzing how I had helped others through these events and how the events had helped me make progress to my learning outcomes.
At the end of the co-op semester, I also shared my learning by writing a letter to the future LOV Director. I described the groups that we had worked with and the events that I had organized. I also listed several pieces of advice for planning the events and increasing co-op participation. Writing this letter encouraged me to consider different aspects of my learning. For example, I reflected on the most efficient ways to communicate event information with large groups of people. I also considered the most effective ways to encourage others to sign up for volunteer events.
One of my pieces of advice to the future LOV Director was to continue weekly volunteering at the ReStore. I really enjoyed working at the ReStore because I always had a great time with the other co-ops and because the staff was so friendly and so appreciative of our help. There are only a couple employees at the ReStore, so they truly rely on the help of volunteers to process new donations and arrange these donations within the store. After helping at the ReStore, I feel very passionate about their mission and I hope that MPC co-ops continue to volunteer and help the ReStore meet their goal of helping others in the community.
Works Cited:
"Benefits of Student Participation in Community Service: Benefits of Participation in Service." Benefits of Student Participation in Community Service: Benefits of Participation in Service. University of Michigan, n.d. Web. 03 June 2015.
My honors experiential learning project consisted of serving as the Living Our Values Director on Marathon Petroleum Company’s Intern/Co-Op Advisory Board (ICAB). This experience occurred during the Spring 2015 semester while I completed my co-op rotation in MPC’s Pipeline Engineering Department. ICAB is a leadership panel that consists of five elected positions: Chairperson, Living Our Values Director, Media Director, Know the Business Director, and Social Director. Throughout the semester, I met regularly with the four other ICAB members and our Human Resources advisor to organize work-related, social, and volunteer functions for all interns/co-ops at Marathon’s corporate office in Findlay, Ohio.
This experiential learning project fulfilled the Community Engagement thematic area. As the Living Our Values (LOV) Director, I was primarily responsible for organizing opportunities for the interns/co-ops to volunteer and get involved with the local Findlay community. The following are some of the organizations we worked with throughout the semester: Habitat for Humanity ReStore, Birchaven Retirement Home, Findlay Area Swim Team, Hancock County Relay for Life, and the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio.
The most significant part of this experience was the relationships that I formed with others during the semester. As the LOV Director, I participated in the majority of the ICAB-sponsored volunteer events as well as the social and work-related events. This allowed me to interact with most of the co-ops and various HR representatives. I especially enjoyed working at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore every Thursday evening with a small group of four or five co-ops. I had a lot of fun working with other co-ops and became close friends with co-ops in other departments by doing so.
Through completing this experiential learning project, I made progress towards the following learning outcome: possess awareness of purpose of service, including need for reciprocity, understanding of social issues, and ability to see those issues from multiple perspectives. By working closely with several volunteer organizations in Findlay, I gained a better understanding of the purpose of community service and the various opportunities to help others in the community. Working at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore gave me the chance to evaluate community service from multiple perspectives. ReStores accept donated home goods, such as home appliances, fixtures, and furniture, and sell these items to the community. The profits from these sales benefit the Habitat for Humanity and help pay for home builds and home repairs within the community. After learning about the ReStore’s business structure, I realize how beneficial this organization is to the community. Financially underprivileged families benefit indirectly from the ReStore’s work by receiving the services of Habitat for Humanity. In addition, families at all levels of financial income benefit directly by having access to home goods at low costs. The manager of the Findlay ReStore was especially compassionate and willing to help others. On several occasions, I witnessed him discussing prices with customers and agreeing to a price that the customer thought was fair and was able to afford.
I also made progress towards the following learning outcome: participate in community and understand own role as citizen of community. As the LOV Director, I participated in the MPC intern/co-op community and I served a leadership role within this community. Most of the co-ops working at Marathon are from out-of-town and have never worked in Findlay before. Because I was a returning co-op and I know how lonely a new town can feel, I really strived to reach out to other co-ops in order to make them feel welcome and to encourage them to participate in co-op events.
Part 2: So What?
During my first co-op term in Findlay, I wasn’t very involved in ICAB-sponsored events due to work obligations, and I quickly came to realize that being in a new town – especially a small town – can get pretty lonely and boring. Returning to Findlay for this co-op rotation, I wanted to help other co-ops make the most of their time in Findlay by encouraging them to participate in ICAB-sponsored events.
Prior to starting my experiential learning project, I read an article published through the University of Michigan titled “Benefits of Student Participation in Community Service,” which highlights various ways in which young adults can grow and develop through serving others. The article stated that people who participate in community service events experience better mental health, including reduced stress and feelings of depression. Those who participate in community service also experience more positive social relationships and feel more connected to their local community (“Benefits of Student Participation in Community Service”). After reading this article, I realized that serving as the LOV Director would be the perfect way to help other co-ops. I would be able to organize fun service events and build relationships with other co-ops through these events.
At the beginning of the semester, I contacted the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and organized weekly volunteering on Thursday evenings. Each week I went to the ReStore with about four or five other co-ops. Because the ReStore staff was so friendly and laid-back, we always had a great time helping out. I noticed that several more reserved co-ops who didn’t participate in the large social outings regularly signed up for the ReStore volunteering. I’m glad that I helped provide an opportunity for these co-ops to interact with other co-ops in a setting that fitted their personalities.
Serving as a member of ICAB was a great networking opportunity. The ICAB members have the opportunity to work with several Human Resources representatives and MPC employees from various departments. Because I am interested in completing my remaining two co-ops at Marathon and would like to pursue a full-time career at Marathon, this was a great opportunity for me to expand my professional network. If I complete another co-op rotation in Findlay, I hope to serve on the Intern/Co-op Advisory Board again in order to gain more leadership experience and to further expand my networking within the company.
Part 3: Now What?
Throughout the semester, I worked with several volunteer organizations including the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and the Birchaven Retirement Home. Although I have always been passionate about community service, I had never worked with these organizations or any organizations similar to these. However, because working with these groups was so fun and rewarding, I would like to seek out similar groups in Cincinnati.
During the semester, I shared my learning with my peers by maintaining a reflective blog on my honors website. Writing these blog posts gave me the opportunity to reflect upon the events I participated in and to consider the learning that had occurred along the way. I was able to dive further into my learning, analyzing how I had helped others through these events and how the events had helped me make progress to my learning outcomes.
At the end of the co-op semester, I also shared my learning by writing a letter to the future LOV Director. I described the groups that we had worked with and the events that I had organized. I also listed several pieces of advice for planning the events and increasing co-op participation. Writing this letter encouraged me to consider different aspects of my learning. For example, I reflected on the most efficient ways to communicate event information with large groups of people. I also considered the most effective ways to encourage others to sign up for volunteer events.
One of my pieces of advice to the future LOV Director was to continue weekly volunteering at the ReStore. I really enjoyed working at the ReStore because I always had a great time with the other co-ops and because the staff was so friendly and so appreciative of our help. There are only a couple employees at the ReStore, so they truly rely on the help of volunteers to process new donations and arrange these donations within the store. After helping at the ReStore, I feel very passionate about their mission and I hope that MPC co-ops continue to volunteer and help the ReStore meet their goal of helping others in the community.
Works Cited:
"Benefits of Student Participation in Community Service: Benefits of Participation in Service." Benefits of Student Participation in Community Service: Benefits of Participation in Service. University of Michigan, n.d. Web. 03 June 2015.