Intrinsic Gratification

One of my personal goals for this service-learning trip was to leave my mark on New Orleans. I wanted to make a difference and to help out in one way or another. After completing our two weeks of community service, I can confidently say that I have accomplished this goal. It has been amazing to take part in the service that we have done and to whiteness the tangible and intangible impact that we have made. By working with Parkway Partners, the LSU Agricultural Center, St. Margret’s daughters, and Rebuilding Together our group has been able to lend a helping hand to people who are striving to revitalize New Orleans. Every organization we worked with was amazed by our group’s willingness to go head first into projects. We installed hardwood floors, dug massive ditches, made the elderly laugh as we sang Michael Jackson, and planted aquatic plants in waders. I think that it is safe to say that we have all learned how to do new things on this trip. I watched in amazement as the other Mollie became an expert carpenter in an hour and admired Savanna’s ability to connect with the residents at St. Margret’s. We were all able to channel our individual strengths to work as a team and as an agent of change. Knowing that we made people’s days even just a little bit brighter or a little bit easier is enough satisfaction for me.

Even though most of the people we worked with were not New Orleans natives it was interesting to hear what had attracted them to the city and why the loved it so much. Every volunteer had a different explanation and a different spin on how they viewed New Orleans but what they all had in common was that there was something about this unique city that made it hard to leave. Some may view service work as an indirect way to get to know the culture of a city but I have found trough being indirect you stumble upon hidden jewels and open doors that you would have missed otherwise. For example we were invited to a Louisiana style dinner on Macon Fry’s back porch over looking the Mississippi and met people at St. Margret’s that we ended up seeing numerous times round the city. These experiences and the intrinsic rewards that come from doing service are priceless, but what is more important is that we left a person’s day a little brighter and made an impact on the city. It is evident in the smiles of those we spent time with and the gratitude of everyone we have met that we have accomplished this.