Huge thanks to this week's Feature Friday, Gabriela Montes!
Community service, social
justice, education, and sisterhood. Through my involvement in both the
Community Service Office and my sorority, these themes remain at the core of my
daily experiences and complement one another well. I love being both a CSOer
and a member of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Incorporated. Both positions
have taught me so much and made me into a stronger leader and better
individual. It is great to bring what I learn in the CSO back to my sorority
and the Cultural Greek Council.
The Community Service Office
has helped me become a better leader and has helped me to fully understand and
know how to share with others the value of meaningful service and the grandiose
importance of working together with one’s community. Meaningful service calls
one to be in communication with their community and to know their needs at that
point in time. This communication allows them to know how they can best work
with their community. Working in the CSO has also allowed me to understand how
important the connections we have with our community partners are because in
the past they did not exist. The community and Lehigh used to not work together
at all and it was as if there was a large barrier between the two. I find it
important to remember this historical context and not take the partnerships for
granted.
My membership in Lambda
Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Incorporated has also honed my leadership skills
and with the emphasis on the principles of unity, love and respect, allowed me
to continue my passion for service and spread it to even more people! I have
the ability to not only teach my sisters about meaningful service, but to carry
lessons about communicating well with partners, ensuring we
work “with” people rather than “for”, and many others to our chapter and
council. I have also been able to use my frame of reference from my work in the
CSO to bring ideas out into the community and foster those relationships.
It is my goal to always
continue to learn from my involvement in these amazing organizations and share
such lessons with others and our community in impactful ways.