WF Fellows: Looking Back and Forward

When I think about my first day in August, I really had no idea what to expect. The year as a Fellow has given me invaluable experience and rewarding opportunities that have helped shape my outlook as a young professional. I never imagined I would know so much about Wake Forest and feel privileged that I have been able to understand the reality of administration. I have been fortunate enough to work in and learn from the various offices at Wake Forest. As a Fellow, I have learned industriousness, tact, and teamwork among a host of new skills. I have updated blogs, participated in a service trip, and held managerial duties. I have interacted with students and administration with the mission to bridge the gap between the two. Though I’ve found times difficult in balancing students and administration, I have found it an enriching experience, developing my people-skills and communication techniques. I know this program has potential. I wish the Fellows luck in filling their roles and soaking up all that Wake Forest has to offer.

-Tristan Salvanera, President’s Office

My year as a Wake Forest Fellow has been a formative and enjoyable one. This experience was full of growing, through challenging experiences and learning opportunities. Most memorable of all will not be the projects or assignments I completed, but the community of people with whom I interacted daily. My colleagues in the Division of Student Life, the other Fellows, the Event Planning Office, Aramark employees, and many more all provided a wonderful environment with which I’m confident is rivaled by few. As a young professional, the support, guidance, and encouragement I received from my mentor, Dr. Mary Gerardy, and Division of Student Life colleagues, allowed me to develop both personally and professionally. The high expectations and varied responsibilities placed before me were staunch markers of the confidence my supervisors had in me. They also displayed equal support and investment in my success after the fellowship came to an end. I could not have asked for more balanced, amicable, and competent individuals to work with.

As I look back, I am amazed at the many facets of the university with which I’ve had the opportunity to engage. It has been my ultimate privilege and great joy to be a part of the inaugural class of Fellows. Best wishes to the new Fellows!

-Keon McGuire, Student Life

Nearly 300 alumni, parents and friends across the country have shared their memories, their passions and their lives with me. I have talked with alumni of all ages, backgrounds, interests and regions – the one thing that we all have in common is a deep love for Wake Forest; its community, its hospitality, its people, its standards, and its integrity. What a truly special Wake Forest family we have.

I feel lucky to have experienced Wake Forest in a different light this year. Many can brag about a wonderful college experience as a student but, few are fortunate enough to channel that passion into a career. I have come to value this place as an alumna myself. Meeting with our alumni, I have been inspired by their passion and dedication to all areas of life. Wake Foresters are people who truly do well and do good.

I’m delighted to say that I will continue my career here at Wake Forest, next year working with young alumni and our reunions program. While sad to leave the Fellows position, I place it in the incredibly capable hands of our newest fellow, Trevor Taylor (’09). I hope all alumni have the chance to meet him.

-Lydia Harter, Advancement

This past year has gone by so fast. Even though I feel far removed from being a student, there is so much to learn every single day. I love the work I do and the people I work with. They’ve confidently given me projects I didn’t think I could do. They’ve let me mess up, and yet learn from my mistakes to succeed in the projects. The best part about this job is the academic setting we work in. They are not only your supervisors and co-workers, but advisors and mentors as well.

The people here are phenomenal and the opportunities available, incredible. Even though it was an adjustment at first to switch from a student to staff position, I was treated with respect and an equal at all levels. It has allowed me to learn fascinating aspects of Wake Forest and the higher education sector itself as well.

Taking on this position was one of the best decisions I have made. Not only have I grown professionally, but I’ve discovered intriguing qualities and interests I possess. I am curious to see what possibilities lay ahead. Regardless, the skills I’ve acquired and relationships I’ve built will stay with me for a long time.

-Parul Patel, Office of the Provost

Carpe Quad

As the semester winds down and stress levels are high for a variety of reasons (finals, job-prospects, commencement proceedings), Wake Forest shouts back, "Hey! We need a break!" Thus, the governing bodies that be (students and administration) present Seize the Quad for the second time.

With such a successful turnout and exciting events (despite the Cleveland State game) from the last party on the Quad, Student Government and administration wanted to provide students with another opportunity to partake in social events on the Wake campus. The main goal of Seize the Quad is to reinvigorate social events on campus.

So drop those books for just a couple of hours, grab a couple of friends, and enjoy the festivities this Friday, April 17.

NOLA: The Future

A week has gone by and the service trip to New Orleans, LA seems so fresh to those who participated yet becoming so distant as we all return to the routine at Wake Forest University. A new group has probably taken our places amidst the power tools and begun the mudding process, all helping to reach our goal: helping the homeowner move in. As I reflect on the experience in NOLA, I am extremely surprised by the amount of devastation and work still to be done; more importantly, I am surprised by the selflessness of our students and the hope people still have despite the destruction.

My intentions for this trip were two-fold: to gauge the service opportunities students took and how we as university could improve our methods in promoting "Pro Humanitate." These goals were met, but in the process, I gained more in the areas of personal growth, knowledge of the extent of Hurricane Katrina, and community engagement. The people of NOLA continue to rebuild both their homes and lives, with some help from a group of 55 students from Wake Forest University.

Our teams split up into three groups: St. Bernard Project construction, after-school day-care, and elderly care. All three areas in the town of Chalmette, LA needed help simply because there was no one around to do it. In each respective group, we all met with the NOLA community, learning of the aftermath and the effect on individual lives in the community.

The St. Bernard Project team began with insulation and dry-walling, donated by Habitat for Humanity and Home Depot. Supervised by AmeriCorps members, our team set out to surpass the goal for each day. We finished two bedrooms, a living room, and both bathrooms. While few students had construction experience, we all learned quickly through teamwork and guidance from our supervisors. Each day our homeowner would stop by and recount a new story of the days after the hurricane. She pointed in the attic where her husband stayed with their five dogs and, ultimately, punched out the ceiling, climbing onto the roof, finding a drifting boat, and saving neighbors stranded on the rooftops.





In review, our trip proved more than a service opportunity. It gave some students a new venue that they may try for future plans. It gave other students a chance to visit a new locale and interact with a new community. Overall, it give us a chance to build and cultivate relationships between the Wake Forest and NOLA community. My hope is that students will spread the word of the work still waiting to be done in the Gulf communities, but also increase the awareness of service prevalent in our Wake Forest community.

"Do not forget us"

As our week in New Orleans draws to a close, I can't help but dwell on the reality that New Orleans has become a forgotten city. Within this city are people struggling to find the resources and the money to rebuild their lives. In unknown places such as St. Bernard Parish, citizens of this middle class neighborhood are adjusting to asking for help, not giving it. Rather than a hand out, American citizens are asking for a hand up. Hard working people are questioning where they fit in this country. As our attention turns to other parts of this world and other parts of this country, I am finding myself asking, how can we remember New Orleans?

A great example of this is the work done by Zack Rosenberg and Liz McCartney, founders of the St. Bernard Project with which we have been working this week. Prior to Hurricane Katrina Zack was working as a trial lawyer and Liz in non profit education work. Six months after the storm hit, Zack and Liz traveled to the parish to help in the rebuilding work. Expecting to be building up rather than gutting out, they were shocked to see most of the homes had not been touched and the entire parish was practically uninhabited. Upon leaving the parish they asked numerous citizens what they wanted and how they could help them in their efforts to return home. The citizens of the parish gave one simple request, do not forget us. Zack and Liz have headed this desperate plea. They returned home to raise the funds that would allow them to move to the city and start rebuilding homes. On the weekends the pair worked to gut houses in the area. With time they met a homeowner named Frank White who allowed them to fix up his old appliance store to serve as a office and warehouse for their budding project. Today, St. Bernard is a world renowned rebuilding organization that serves as a fine example on what happens when hard working, good people work together to find a solution to a solvable problem. To date they have rebuilt 200 homes in the parish and are working to expand their ingenious rebuilding system to Gentilly, Lakeview, Midcity, and New Orleans East. In January they opened a free mental health clinic adjacent to their offices where clients can come to gain the critical mental health and psychiatric services they so disparately require as they seek to rebuild their lives.

What can we take away from the work of Zack and Liz? I think it can be summed up quite simply. These problems are solvable and we have the capacity right now to do something about it.

. My hope for our group as we return back to Wake is that New Orleans isn't quickly forgotten. This trip should be the start of something in our lives, not the end. How can we empower ourselves and our friends and family to do something about the problems in the world? Daily we are surrounded by the needs of our community, and as citizens of this country and this world we must sense the great urgency to make a difference and start doing so now.

My hope is that the students on this trip spread the truth and the reality of what New Orleans looks like today. I hope each goes home to Wake Forest and become the voice of those we have met here in the parish. Rather than sit on the reality of this community so devastated by the hurricane three and a half years later, students should use the connections, the knowledge, and the relationships they have formed to encourage their peers and family to lend a hand, a heart, and a voice to the people of New Orleans.

NOLA Day 2: Putting up the Foundation

After two days of construction work, filled with frustrations and success, we put a face to the service we are doing. The woman is a young native of Chalmette, Lousiana with two daughters and five dogs. During the storm of Katrina, she evacuated but her husband stayed behind to rescue the dogs and wait out the storm. In the end, he swam around the attic, saving the animals, punching out a hole in the roof, and rescuing nearby neighbors with a neighbor's boat. She comes by cheery, filled with hope for the future. Meeting this courageous woman helped all of us step back and reflect on our own fortunes. Personally, I cannot picture myself feeling lucky that I live in a relatively spacious trailer when I previously owned a two-bedroom home. However, even three and a half years later, such accommodations are almost luxurious when considering the fate of many. Only two doors next to this woman's house lives a man whose life is still far from recovery. Twenty years ago, when he bought his house, he put the deed under his mother's name without knowing the fate that lay ahead. Since his mother's house was also deemed uninhabitable, she did not have enough insurance to cover both houses. Thus, this man has received no form of aid to rebuild his home. Furthermore, to keep the local government from tearing it down due to abandonment, he has moved back onto the land in a very small trailer. Fifteen of our group have been struggling for three days to insulate and dry wall a house, but the thought of one man trying to accomplish all this and much more is truly astonishing. These are only two stories on one street of a large metropolis, but they are representative of many. New Orleans is a unique city where one block is lined with plantation-era mansions and the next holds mainly dilapidated houses, but despite these vast socio-economic discrepancies, they are all united by a disaster much bigger than themselves. The estimated time for a full recovery is 20 to 25 years, but if we continue to remember and support this community, perhaps we can shorten this road to rebuilding.

NOLA Day 1: Katrina Relief and the Youth Movement

As we enter the town of Chalmette, Louisiana, I notice the dilapidated houses and minimal edifices. Before the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina, over 29,000 structures stood strong in the St. Bernard Parrish; all but 3 were claimed uninhabitable post-Katrina. Pain, heartache, displacement, and death have plagued the historical state of Louisiana. The Federal, state, and local governments continue to fight over recognition and monies for distribution to the communities that lost their homes in Katrina. However, aid continues amidst the economic turmoil plaguing our country and the forgotten need of the people of Louisiana. 55 Wake Forest students have decided to use their time to travel to Louisiana and help restore housing to communities in Louisiana. Through the St. Bernard Project, teams of 5 have dispersed through the community to aid AmeriCorps volunteers in rebuilding houses, but most importantly restoring the community. Though work has been physically and mentally draining, our Demon Deacons are learning the meaning of civic engagement and the tools they can bring back to the Wake Forest community to perpetuate our motto: Pro Humanitate.

For Humanity, For our Community

Pro-Humanitate- latin; For Humanity

Filled with the hustle and bustle of extracurriculars, classes, and social events, our university campus can be described in one word: busy. We utilize our time management skills to make the deadline for an editorial, squeeze a meeting for an organization, all the while balancing the long-hours preparing for the rigors of academics. Amidst the frenzied schedule of both university students and faculty, the time for community service and civic engagement can be lost in the shuffle. Indeed, volunteer service and community outreach are thriving at Wake Forest via programs through the Volunteer Service Corps. and various organizations, but is that enough? In troubling times, as our current economy, we may remain complacent in the community work done thus far. “Every little bit helps, right?” Agreeably, the communities served internationally and domestically prove the global scope of Wake Forest’s helping hand. However, we must continue to look deeper into the Winston-Salem community that welcomes Wake Forest’s citizens, for ways to help the humbled host. Through continuous efforts from the Wake Forest community, via service-learning programs or organizational partnerships, we can develop and sustain the help that is most needed in our community.