Giving Back at Drake

One of the things that surprised me when I first arrived at Drake was the amount of people who volunteered their time for beneficial causes. It seemed one way or another; people were giving up some parts of their week in order to give back to the community. I guess I had the perception that when one comes to college, they are too occupied in their studies and social lives to have time to give back. Drake is distinctly different, and I like that.

One of the misconceptions I believe many students have is that volunteering is an arduous chore that one is forced to do in order to “be a good person”. Two ways I have mainly given back at Drake is through the Chemistry Club, and through Upwards sports at the church I go to, Walnut Creek.

In Chemistry Club, almost every Friday we welcome elementary and middle school students into our labs and we help them with simple experiments and show them cool demos. The primary purpose of this is to get them excited about school by showing them it can be fun, and also to get them thinking about college. A person can do much more with their life when they have a college degree. Chem. club has been a blast because the kids’ minds are blown when we run experiments such as “the can crush” and do demos such as “squeezing an egg through a flask without breaking it”. They remind me a lot of myself as well. One of the popular stations is where the kids get to make their own silly putty. Once they are done making it, they are supposed to leave it in a box until they go home, but there have been a few rascals that hold onto it cause trouble the rest of the time. One boy put his putty in another girl’s hair and had to go out into the hall for the rest of the time (I totally would have been that kid, my mom and dad would tell you that I was sent home with many “pink slips” for misbehavior when I was that age).

Coaching Upwards has also been a blast! This past winter my good friend Nolan and I were the coaches of the Bearcats. We coached 1st and 2nd grade boys. Basketball was my favorite sport growing up, so it was fun to teach them how to play the game and share what Christ has done in my life with them. Most of them had never played a single game before this season, so one of the most enjoyable aspects of the season was watching them improve week to week. They were an entirely different team by the end of the season and learned so much! One of the most memorable parts of the season were the jokes they would tell us. They had so many, most of them were knock-knock jokes that didn’t make much sense, but they were still funny! Also I have to give a shout out to coach Henry (aka the Hen), Big Wes, and Justin for helping out with coaching at practices and games as well.

The 2010 Upwards Bearcats

 

 

The Can Crush, One of the most Popular Experiments

"Methane Bubles" - An Explosive Demo!