Hey all,
I just returned home from Happy Office Hours, a great
experience to sign up for during your final semester. (Pro Tip: If you donate,
even a small amount, to the Binghamton Fund as a student, you get exclusive
access and early sign ups to these events, highly recommend doing that, and
hey, philanthropy is important). Anyway, as I was saying, I just returned home
after having the chance to reflect and catch up with classmates, friends and
peers that I have met over the years. It was a great event to cap my senior
year properly and prepare myself for the rapidly approaching end.
I did also get the chance to speak with President Stenger for
a few minutes before I left. We spoke about my time in geography department
doing research and my future work with power tools at my new employer. However,
after I thanked him for attending our ceremony this morning, the real bulk of our
conversation became about our class and philanthropy in general. We spoke about
how incredible it was to have the opportunity to give back to the community I
have been a part of and studied for four years. Our conversation was brief yet
great and it really did allow me to reflect and do some thinking on the way
home.
This course was an extremely unique experience and for the
most part it is a one of a kind opportunity here at Binghamton University.
However, while that statement is true since you’re rarely given money to donate
in your undergraduate coursework, I think there is a great lesson to be learned
from our time this semester:
Giving does not have to be monetary.
Many of you are freshman and I hope you realize how much
time you have to do things that are bigger than yourself here at Binghamton.
Just this past semester, I led a research group studying the gentrification occurring
in downtown Binghamton. We helped government officials, planners and
stakeholders for the BU Health Sciences Campus see what kind of effect student
influx has on a city and give insight into future development in Johnson City. Members
of my fraternity and I have volunteered countless hours for the Boys and Girls
Club of Endicott. I spent time as a mentor in Johnson City Middle School. I
have even developed and performed science fair programs for school aged children
in low income areas around the county with the Geology Club.
Enough with my resume. Here is my real point.
Do not let the spirit of giving back to this community end
here. You are all at Binghamton University and therefore obviously some of the
top students in the state (it is okay to brag). With that comes a power to do
real change well. Get involved, be active, and most importantly, make sure that
at the end of your four years, you can look fondly on your time here and know
that you accomplished something worthwhile.
Thank you all for a great semester.
-Dylan
Hi Dylan,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your closing sentiments on the class. I agree this course was extremely unique and I am so grateful to have been part of it. I think its really great how much you were involved in the community and its sad to see you go! Most of us aren't from the Binghamton area and this class was a great way to learn more about the place we currently live and for the next few years. Additionally, I learned so much more about philanthropy than I even knew possible. I’ve always been a proud supporter of non-profit organizations and giving to those in need, but this class made me realize there is often much more to that. As you said, volunteering time can also be a great way to support organizations in need around the community. For my social work class, we had required service learning hours. I volunteered 15 hours for the Oasis After School program at a high school in Endicott. Although I dreaded going most days, I really got to know many unique students. Something that stuck with me was when I asked several of them what their plans were after high school. Most had no idea, especially if college was an option due to financial concerns. For me at least, it made me realize how truly lucky we are to be at Binghamton and have the ability to receive a great education. Although I finished my service hours, I plan to continue participating in the program because it does have a great impact on these students lives. I think anyway that we can get involved during our time in Binghamton would be a great way to help the community. Now that we all have learned so much from the class, I think we should carry it with us and continue our philanthropic efforts. If anyone wants to get involved around the community, the Center for Civic Engagement has a very great database on their website in which you can get in contact with organizations for amazing volunteer opportunities. Here's the link: https://www.binghamton.edu/cce/ccedatabase/
Dear Dylan,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the non-sentimental post,
As a fellow upperclassman getting ready to leave the school soon, I could not agree more. As a Binghamton University students, we do have a lot of power. There are so many clubs and organizations on campus that do A LOT of great work. If you walk around the peace quad and spine during the university fest, you will find out that you have an opportunity to do community service work while gaining on campus leadership skills and executive board experiences. Many people from the class have 2 or 3 more years to spend on this campus. There are amazing students running amazing organization that help out the local community. They are easy to find, most of the times they find you. I encourage you guys to become part of these SA charted organizations and help out Binghamton area while making friends and boosting your resume!
Dylan,
ReplyDeleteAs a freshman, this was a very interesting blog post to read. While right now it seems as if most of our class is a long way away from being in your shoes, this post reminded me of how wisely that time can be used.
I personally feel that it is easy to be overwhelmed with all the opportunities that Binghamton has to offer. This class, however, has taught me how to most wisely dedicate my time and money. After all, we spent a whole semester learning how to do so.
While I joined this class to fulfill my SCHL 280 requirement for the Scholars program, this class became less of a class and more of a life lesson. We learned how to think analytically about philanthropy, compromise with almost 30 other students, and how to balance our heads and our hearts - all very valuable lessons for our future.
Thank you for reminding the rest of us how valuable this class really was.
Best of wishes and congratulations!
Hi Dylan,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this very reflective blog post and enjoyed your presence in the class, whenever you spoke it was well-informed and with a purpose. One of the most important ideas I've taken from the class is a concept you mentioned in your "Definitely Not A Sentimental Blog Post", "Giving does not have to be monetary". Having the ability to give money to your favorite cause is amazing but for a lot of people it's not much of an option. That doesn't mean that your philanthropic career ends when all the Learning by Giving money is granted. As the top college students in the state , we all possess skills that can be much more valuable to a charity then 10 dollars. Whether you are a great word wizard with the ability to grant-write , or a math maniac with the ability to run impact analysis and everything in between. Dylan clearly understands this concept because he's poured non-monetary resources and time into the community looking to make a real difference. This realization has also inspired me to look for ways to give back without spending my nonexistent disposable income.
I've been working with Professor Ziegler and his son on developing a website for a charity golf event that will benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in the name of amazing member of the Ziegler family. On September 16, 2015, Jackie was diagnosed with Leukemia. Shortly after she was diagnosed, the Jack Pack was created to show Jackie the love and support she deserved. Although the Jack Pack lost its most valuable member we still stand together to honor an amazing person. Please, I've included links at the bottom to the website to donate to the Leukemia & Lymphoma society and a link join or support Team Jack Pack in the Light The Night charity walk. The work with the charity has been amazing and quite rewarding, and I'm also able to provide for free a website development service that the members of the charity do not have the technical skills for. This is just one way that I am able to give back without it being a monetary contribution.
I hope everyone is able to find their way to give back, It's part of your philanthropic duty.
Sincerely,
David Engelmann
Make donations to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society- https://donate.lls.org/lls/donate
Join the The Jack Pack for Light The Night- http://pages.lightthenight.org/uny/AlbanyNY18/TeamJackPack
Hey Dylan,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your end of semester thoughts. I appreciate the advice you give as a senior in this post but also all semester sitting at the same table as me. I appreciate you bringing to our attention all the countless things you were able to accomplish here and hope that we can all use it as a guideline to forge our own paths of positive change for the rest of our time in Binghamton.