By Mashal Akram.
Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.
When I came to the United States as a participant of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Program (YES), I learned first-hand the true essence of community service. While we had to complete 100 hours of community service as part of our exchange program, my interest was more in engaging with people and serving a community completely different from Pakistan.
Joining the “Key Club” at school gave me the opportunity to sign up for different projects. These projects were not only a way to serve the community, but also a way to learn about the different festivals, like Christmas and Halloween, that I had read or heard about. On Halloween, I was blessed to serve small kids and at the same time get to know what the festival actually is. I also started to stop by lunch on Thursdays and Fridays to do “Pillowcase projects” and on Wednesday I volunteered at Threadz after school for two hours. However, one opportunity that was the icing on the cake for me was my selection for the “District Convention” in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The learning experience the convention gave me was massive. I learned about leadership and procedures to follow while selecting or electing leadership.
My Key Club Instructor, Ms. Phalen.
The highlight was the recognition my host institute, Tempe High School, received. We scored first place in the scrapbook category and second place in Pillowcase Project in which I completed the highest number of hours in my Key Club. I remember when my instructor brought the trophy we had won and said, “Mashal, your efforts over the past two weeks have been phenomenal!”
I received the 100-hour honor certificate of successfully completing 100 hours with my Key Club although overall I completed 500 hours of community service.
I feel blessed to have been given a chance to serve a totally different nation with my skills, power and determination and learn from their resilience. For me, this district convention DCON was De (The) Commitment to your own selves to serve your community – a concept that I will strive to work on even in Pakistan.
To check out Mashal’s blog, click here.
