Alumni Discuss Community Service and Ways to Get Involved

The Service After Rhody Panel gathered to tell students about how they continue to serve their community. | Photo by Grace DeSanti.

A panel of alumni who were heavily involved in community service as students, spoke this past Wednesday about how they served their communities in college and how they continue to do so now.

Amy Albert, the coordinator of community service at the University of Rhode Island, hosted the panel, which was called the Service After Rhody Panel.

The group of four panelists included three alumni – Maria Nero, Scott Andrews and Kevin Drumm. The fourth member of the panel was Addison Chau, a current graduate student.

Drumm had just returned from a two year Peace Corps program in Peru. He worked on the health promotion side of the program, creating and improving drinking water systems. Drumm majored in mechanical engineering, and although he could have gone straight to graduate school or a job, he decided to serve in the Peace Corps.

“Doing some of the work following the profession that has the same name as the degree that you’re getting isn’t the only way to apply the skill that you’re learning in those classes,” he said.

Through this program, Drumm was able to learn about the culture and lifestyle of a whole other country while helping them sustain their drinking water supply.

Chau is preparing to go into a Peace Corps program as well. He will be traveling to China to teach English to young students.

When addressed with a question about employment after the Peace Corps, Chau mentioned many of the resources that the program offers to volunteers. This includes various partnerships for graduate school, as well as non-competitive eligibility opportunities in some government jobs.

The non-competitive eligibility allows Peace Corps volunteers to find government job positions being held specifically for returning Peace Corps volunteers, which offers them stability after they return home.

Drumm added to the discussion, “My definition of service and the reason I was in the Peace corps was to be present while I was there.”

Drumm tried not to be concerned about the situation when he returned to his home, but instead wanted to concentrate on what he could give to the community while he was in Peru.

Nero and Andrews show a different side of service after college. Both have full-time jobs, as Nero works in clinical pharmacy and Andrews is a financial advisor. Each has gone through the process of integrating service back into their busy lives.

Nero and Andrews had struggles in the beginning, taking a few years to become acquainted with their new lives and schedules as graduated students. The strain of work and fight with motivation were obstacles for them during those times.

Nero volunteers for the alternative spring break programs at URI.

“It’s so easy to fall into that pattern and kind of lose sight of the things you loved just a year before that… When you start feeling like you’re missing something; when you want to be doing something different, that’s when you know and you find your roots and you find a way to get back to it,” Nero said.

Andrews is now on the executive board for the South County Habitat for Humanity in Rhode Island and is an alternative spring break advisor. He had to work to find the opportunity to be involved.

“If you are passionate you need to go after it, because no one’s going to come find you the way you might find something like this on campus,” Andrews said. “You have to go and advocate for yourself and show them that you’re interested over time.”

All four panelists emphasized that it was okay to take time to find yourself in a new life after college. They mentioned doing small service actions and expanding your definition of service can help while making the transition.

“You can’t lead others until you’re ready to lead yourself,” said Andrews.

Maintaining relationships with people who do community service often, as well as value it, is one of the best ways to get involved again. It pushed Nero to work harder to integrate service back into her busy schedule.

“It’s just as important to teach others about things as it is to learn from them as well, so surround yourself with the right people that motivate you,” Nero said.