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Beta Eta Summer Scholarship Encourages Community Service
The Beta Eta House Corporation came up with the scholarship idea last year. "We wanted to provide an incentive for them to get involved in community service, so we put together a program that would make it feasible for students to give up their summer jobs and take on these kinds of responsibilities," says Thomas A. Hargett. "It's certainly our job as advisors to these men to try to make them better students and better citizens. From my perspective, community service is a great way to develop those skills."
"I'm ecstatic with the way the whole thing turned out," says Hargett. "Every one of them understands more acutely that the manner in which they were raised isn't the manner in which every kid in America is raised. You go to college to learn, and I think this program taught them a lot that they couldn't have gotten in the classroom," he says. For example, Tim Osmon volunteered at The Potter's Wheel, an inner-city church in Evansville, Ind., that serves the local community through its soup kitchen, food and clothing donations, and parenting and GED classes. In response to his time there, Tim says the experience "really opened my eyes to the inner city."
Terms of the Scholarship
Twelve brothers applied and six were selected, on a first-come first-served basis, to participate in the pilot summer scholarship program. Each one was responsible for finding his own 40-hour per week summer-long volunteer opportunity serving a recognized non-profit organization--a task that's apparently more difficult than it sounds, according to former Commander Jay Tipton who also participated in the pilot program. "Places like the local soup kitchen only needed a few hours a week on random nights. Some guys had a hard time finding something full-time," he explains.
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| Coach Jay Tipton top row, left. |
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In order to receive the scholarship funds, which would be made available at the beginning of the fall semester, each brother was expected to submit a report about his experience and have his work hours verified with a supervisor from the organization. "I was pleasantly surprised at the initiative they took to set up these positions with the non-profits," says Hargett. "Then, I was ecstatic to read the reports and see how it impacted them, the charities they worked for, and the kids they helped throughout the summer," he shares.
Examples of Volunteer Projects
Jay Tipton volunteered at Monroe County's YMCA as a sports camp counselor. He helped parents and kids sign in for camp each day, organized and planned activities, led stretches at the beginning of every session, monitored behavior and ensured safety on the field/court, and coached T-ball in the evenings. He says volunteering at the YMCA helped him improve his leadership and communication skills. "Being Commander over a group of 18-22 year old guys is one thing. I tell them something and they understand, but working with small children is completely different. It forced me to adapt to a different way of communicating based on their ability to understand the concepts," he explains. He also unexpectedly gained the ability to quickly memorize the names of children--a skill he found to be extremely helpful during the recruitment process last fall.
Brandon Carothers volunteered with the Youth and Community Center of Monroe County and grew to understand the challenges of an organization in the start-up phase. With only two or three consistent volunteers, the YCCMC was scrambling to provide key services to families and children every day. While Brandon hoped to be working on marketing and event planning, the lack of volunteers meant that he served wherever he was needed: painting, reorganizing offices, dealing with maintenance issues, updating and installing computer software, creating marketing materials, or helping kids with homework. When there weren't volunteers to supervise the children, or if the front desk needed to be staffed, Brandon stepped in. He even helped create a more effective system for child check-in and pick-up. Brandon enjoyed his time there so much that he continued to volunteer two days a week once school started in the fall.
Brandon's recommendation to brothers who are looking for volunteer opportunities is to pick an organization that actually needs your help. "There are different scales of need. Find out which organization needs you the most. When they really have to depend on you, that's where you'll make a real difference," he shares.
Raising the Bar
The scholarship is just one component in a larger movement at Beta Eta to raise the bar in several areas. In addition to community service, there has been a strong push toward academic excellence, campus involvement, and relationship building. Last fall the chapter improved its GPA to 3.2 compared to the previous semester at 2.98. They are perhaps the only fraternity on campus that hasn't been in any trouble this year, and the brothers say their relationships with the sororities have never been better.
Looking to the Future
Based on the impact of last year's summer scholarship program, Hargett says he's hopeful that he will find a way to endow the program and eventually grow it in future years so more brothers can participate.
In fact, he's surprised that more universities don't offer this type of initiative. "I called around and found nothing like it. But it hits on so many aspects that are important to the development of young people. Kids go home every summer to make two to three thousand dollars in spending money for the next year. If a university could provide 100 volunteers who will work for credit hours and some pocket change each summer, imagine the difference it would make in a community," he says. "It's a win-win. It helps the organizations who receive the services, and it teaches our men responsibility in a real-world environment. I thought it was a home run. I hope it initiates the spirit of charitable giving and community service in each of our members. That is what we endeavor to accomplish."
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