Hampden-Sydney College is a special place where young men come to live, laugh, and learn. Creating Good Men and Good Citizens has been the aim of our institution since its inception and we must continue to sustain this goal. As a past member of the Student Finance Board I was privileged to meet the leaders of all clubs on campus, but there was a special privilege in having the leaders of service-oriented clubs come in. Not because these gentlemen reminded me of Mother Theresa, but instead because each embodied what it meant to be a Hampden-Sydney man: successful inside the classroom, socially active on campus, and giving back to a community that acts as their respective home during their respective stints at H-SC. Great examples of this leadership come from Tommy Ribaric ’10 or Alex Fiedler ‘11. This dedication and goodwill should not be relegated to a few men on our campus and it is in this spirit that I make a case for volunteerism across our campus.

I am certainly not the first individual to call for more volunteerism on our campus, but it is undoubtedly time to make these calls a reality. Serving in Student Government throughout my time here at Hampden-Sydney I know the caliber of individuals that serve in elected positions within student government. Past Student Body President Pierce Robbins ’10 made it a point to call for a more involved and active student body, but too often these calls are allowed to fade into obscurity. This is why the old adage that “actions speak louder than words” will serve this current Student government well in achieving the goal of more volunteerism on campus. Campus clubs like Good Men Good Citizens and Habitat for Humanity are always in need of a helping hand and it is time for those elected as student leaders to take a larger responsibility in shaping the community service aspect here at H-SC. I am personally not without fault. Throughout my time here at Hampden-Sydney my community service has been lackluster, but better late than never. There are many opportunities to participate in community service. The Dean of Students office recently took a trip to Belize over Spring Break to assist individuals there. 

My goal is not a school wide mandate for elected leaders to participate in community service, but instead to make an open call, in a sense an open letter, to the elected members of student government urging our involvement with clubs such as Good Men Good Citizens and Habitat for Humanity. In the end, only the overall student body will be able to decide whether or not larger involvement in community service is an important endeavor. 

I know the call will be answered. We are all capable men not simply because of some innate ability, but because someone took the time to ensure we understood that education and hard work was fundamentally important. Gregory Dear Jr. ’10 involved himself in an after school program to work with students seeking the same kind of guidance. There are innumerable opportunities to do what so many Hampden-Sydney men before us did: participate in community service. In the end, I expect many of the elected members of the student government to wholeheartedly embrace the idea of volunteerism. The 26th President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt said it best when he asserted, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” There is no questioning that Hampden-Sydney College has some of the most talented and able individuals in the Farmville area and it is incumbent upon us to do the most we can for the community we call home. This idea does not take anything more than the time of individuals who have taken a role of leadership on this campus. Together we, Student Government and the entire Student Body, can chart a new course and set a standard that will only make Hampden-Sydney a more special place to call our home.

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