Alicia Paul has been active in her volunteering endeavors while at Elon and hopes to continue them upon graduating this year.
By Emily Hill ’18
Alicia Paul ’18 was inspired to start volunteering because her parents would have her tag along to volunteer events and encourage her to participate. She enjoyed “trying new things, learning about the community, and meeting new people” from an early age.
When she got to Elon, Paul decided volunteering would be something she would continue to pursue during her four-year career. Her first step was to reach out to the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement and look for openings. It was there she discovered an opening with the Positive Attitude Youth Center as a LINCS coordinator position.
LINCS stands for “Leaders in Collaborative Service” and is made up different student coordinators who each work with one of nine community partner organizations. LINCS are primarily responsible for volunteer recruitment and coordination, working with academic service learning students, and serving at their organizations 6-8 hours each week.
In addition to her LINCS position, Paul is a member of Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed service fraternity. She has to complete at least 25 hours of service each semester and attend meetings and events throughout the semester. She was inducted during her first-year after attending meetings, taking a chapter quiz, interviewing and completing 15 hours of service. This organization has allowed her to spread awareness about PAYC and LINCS and recruit volunteers to her events.
Through her experiences Alicia realized the importance of commitment and patience in volunteering, especially with children, “I experienced a huge difference from my first semester to my second when the children realized that I was not going to disappear after a few months,” she reflects. “This commitment to volunteering long-term allowed us to develop strong friendships that impacted their ability to learn and grow.”
The children she has helped have brought back higher grades and that is something she is so proud to carry with her. Paul hopes to take this newfound knowledge and find an after-school program like PAYC where she can tutor after graduating from Elon.