Senior
Spanish Major

What is your most memorable service experience?
One of my most memorable service experiences was the Month of Love in February with the Fresno State Health Peer Ambassadors of Wellness. It is common to think about others in the month of love, but we must not forget about ourselves. During this event I promoted the act of self-love, where you treat yourself with something you love. Especially for those with low self-esteem, it is important for them to love themselves.

Where did you serve?
I was part of the 2015-2016 Fresno State Health Peer Ambassadors of Wellness, with the Fresno State health Center. (Fresno State Health PAWs)

What did you learn?
Through my service with Health PAWs, I learned that there are various challenges that may affect our Fresno State students. Our mission as PAWs is to promote a healthy lifestyle for our students. Students face challenges like food insecurity, lack of sleep, living on a budget, or going through difficult moments in their lives. College students are young and like to drink and socialize, our program also promotes safe drinking, and we teach our students various ways to drink safely. In addition we inform students about the different resources at our health center.

I learned about the different programs the health center has to offer such as Bulldogs for Recovery, a program designed to help students that may suffer from alcohol or drug addiction.

During the month of love we promoted drug and alcohol awareness with safety tips to prevent alcohol poisoning, we also promoted the National Suicide Prevention week and handed out information and resources to students.

What impact did you make?
Through my year with Fresno State Health PAW’s I interacted with many students, I was amazed by the many “Thank yous” I received from my peers. I was surprised that many students did not know about the different services the health center has to offer, or were not aware of our Counseling and physical therapy services at the health center. In addition some students said they were not using the health center because they thought there was a fee. I informed them that most of our services are already paid through tuition.

How did this service impact you?

This service impacted me by helping me grow as a leader in the community. In addition, I became more knowledgeable about the services offered both on and off-campus. Volunteering with Health PAW’s helped me approach a variety of situations and apply knowledge and resources to support those in need.