The Power of Service: Making Room for What Matters

Abriana Fernandez: Good morning! I have the privilege to introduce your speaker for today. This is
Emily Smith. She is the executive director at the Volunteer Center, but in
the last nine months I've gotten to know her as a mom, as a wife, as a friend, and
as an active part of the community. She is really such a light and so incredible
and getting to hear and draw from her wisdom is gonna be a treat. So if y'all
give it up for Emily Smith.
Emily Smith: How fun is this?
I did not think that my Monday morning was going to look like this with all of you.
When I was asked to speak, I asked how many people would be in the room,
and she was like, well, about 900.
And I said, awesome, that sounds great.
I'm used to speaking to children.
I'm used to speaking to high school students and to adults, but this is a first for me.
So thank you guys so much for the warm welcome
and for allowing me to come and just share a little bit about service
and why it's important and about the volunteer center.
So what if service wasn't something that you did just to meet a requirement?
What if it became part of your identity and who you were
and something that you carry with you wherever you go?
Maybe you've had a moment like that, a time when something small,
like showing up to volunteer, showing up for a friend or a neighbor,
packing boxes, or spending time with someone,
ended up feeling bigger than it was.
Like you were a part of something meaningful,
maybe even bigger than you realized.
At the Volunteer Center of Lubbock,
we believe those moments aren't just feel-good moments.
We believe they're sacred.
Sacred not in the religious standpoint,
but sacred because we're human.
Because service connects us to something that matters,
to each other, to our purpose,
and to the kind of world that we want to live in.
So service is powerful because it does three things.
The first thing it does is that it opens our eyes.
It helps us see what's happening around us,
needs that we might have overlooked,
people we hadn't noticed,
or experiences we didn't quite understand.
Number two, it changes us.
I don't know if you know this or not,
but when you serve, you grow.
We build empathy, we practice compassion,
We realize that we're capable of making an impact,
not someday, but right now.
And number three, it connects us.
Service brings us together across backgrounds,
across generations, across perspectives,
and it reminds us that we belong with each other.
Take a look around this room.
There's people who are your age.
There's people who are not your age.
There's people who are from where you're from
and not where you're from, or believe the way you do,
or don't believe the way you do,
We're all connected.
So service pulls us out of that bubble that we are so comfortable in.
It invites us into someone else's story.
And once you've seen that story, you can't unsee it.
And you don't want to.
Whenever I was a college student, many, many, many years ago, y'all were probably still
in diapers whenever I was a college student.
I had an opportunity to volunteer with a service organization that I was a part of.
And we were challenged to buy Christmas presents for a family in need.
I didn't really know how I was going to afford to buy Christmas presents for a family that
I'd never met before because I was a poor college student.
But we came together as a group and we went shopping and bought gifts for these kids and
we got to have an encounter with the mom.
And that mom, because of us, was able to give her kids a Christmas and was able to see a
a light that maybe she needed to see in a really, really dark time.
And that, y'all, that was a really, really long time ago I said that,
but it was a really long time ago, and that still carries with me today,
and I still think about it.
So it's something that you can't unsee,
and I don't ever want to forget what that moment felt like
whenever we were volunteering.
So what does a volunteer center do?
Y'all may have heard of us.
You may have seen us at LCU for LBK or orientation if you're a freshman,
but our mission is simple.
We help people serve, lead, and connect to meaningful experiences that strengthen our
community.
We connect individuals with over 100 nonprofit partners who need volunteers, organizations
that you may have volunteered with or you've heard of, Meals on Wheels, Children's Advocacy
Center, Open Door, and so many more.
We run leadership programs like our H.I.P.E.
program for high school students.
We also have Leading for Good for adults.
And then we create opportunities for service that are accessible, engaging, and impactful.
And one of our very favorite partners is actually y'all, the students, the staff, and the spirit
of LCU.
We love this partnership because we've been able to have a front row view to watch you
guys thrive through LCU for LBK and through orientation.
We're really excited that we have some things coming up like mini days, and that's where
you'll get to go out each month and serve together in the community and it's
not just a one-time practice or a one-time event it becomes a practice so
be on the lookout for more information about that you may not realize it now
but the service you are doing during your years in college is shaping the
kind of person you'll be when you graduate when you're building your
career your family your influence so who do you want to be our hope at the
volunteer center is that when you leave college you'll take that spirit of
service with you into your workplace into your neighborhoods your churches
wherever life takes you because your community will need you it's not a
matter of if it's a matter of when they're gonna need your time your
perspective your voice and your leadership so here's my challenge to you
don't wait don't wait don't wait until you have more time don't wait until you
have more money, don't wait till you have more experiences, serve now. Start small. Show up.
Ask what's needed. Do what you can and keep doing it. Because the world does not need perfect people.
It needs people who are willing, people who care enough to act. Service is not about having time,
it's about making room. And when you make room for others, you also make room for growth,
meaning and purpose. So who are you making room for and what are you making room for?
Thank you for being a part of what makes Lubbock stronger and thank you for being a part of our
story at the Volunteer Center. We're super super grateful for y'all. You're dismissed.
: applause