The first time I stepped onto the University of Iowa campus as a new student, I remember gripping my backpack straps a little tighter than necessary. I was a first-generation college student from a small rural Iowa town, and everything felt big. The buildings felt big. The campus felt big. The expectations felt big. I hoped I would find my place and fit in.
Early that fall, I sat across from one of my advisors and admitted that I felt like a small fish in a very big pond. She smiled and said something that has stayed with me for decades: “You can be a big fish in a big pond too. The pond doesn’t shrink. You grow.”
I didn’t fully understand what she meant at the time. But looking back, I can see she wasn’t just giving advice. She was offering a roadmap. She was telling me that connection, service, and showing up for others were how I would grow into this place and into myself.
How Building Connections Changed Everything
My confidence didn’t come from one big moment. It came from the small ones. I started building connections through student activities, volunteering, and helping other students who were trying to find their footing just like I was. Every event I attended and every person I met made the campus feel a little less overwhelming and a lot more welcoming.
I didn’t realize it then, but those experiences were doing more than helping me build community. They were strengthening my well-being. Being there for others was helping me feel grounded, useful, and connected.
Finding My Voice as a Staff Member
After graduation, I joined the university as a staff member. I remembered how many people along the way had helped me grow, and I wanted to give back in the same way. That desire led me to Staff Council, where I eventually served as president.
Staff Council changed me. It opened doors I didn’t expect, introduced me to colleagues across campus, and taught me the power of advocating for others. Most importantly, it reminded me that community here doesn’t just happen. It is something we build on purpose.
My involvement in Staff Council also led me to the United Way of Johnson and Washington counties. I attended events, learned about community needs, met agency partners, and began to understand how much impact can be made when people offer something as simple as their time.
What Inspires Me Today
As co-chair of this year’s United Way campaign, the part that inspires me most isn’t the fundraising totals. It’s the employees who show up. It’s teams who take an hour to volunteer together during lunch. It’s coworkers who organize a food drive for a local pantry. It’s staff who pack hygiene kits, help clean up local parks, or support after-school programs.
United Way partners with agencies that rely on volunteers to serve kids, families, older adults, and individuals facing challenges many of us may never see up close. But volunteering doesn’t only support these agencies. It supports us too.
Service Is Also Self-Care
The holidays can be a demanding time. Work deadlines, caregiving responsibilities, financial stress, and end-of-year pressures can pile up quickly. Even surrounded by people, it can be easy to feel isolated or overwhelmed.
Yet something shifts when we volunteer. We step outside our own stress and into someone else’s world for a moment. We gain perspective. We feel useful again. We reconnect with something many of us crave: a sense of purpose.
Research backs this up. Volunteering reduces stress, strengthens resilience, and boosts overall well-being. I have experienced that firsthand. Some of my most grounding moments have happened while helping a child with school supplies, helping prepare a community event, or visiting with someone who simply needed company.
Giving time is good for the people we serve, but it is also good for our own mental health.
One Hour. One Person. One Connection.
As we head into the season of giving, I want to offer a simple challenge. Give one hour. Not money or things, but your presence.
One hour can
- help a child read a new word
- help a family put food on the table
- help an older adult feel less alone
- help you reconnect with purpose and community
Imagine what our campus could feel like if all of us found just one hour to contribute in a way that feels right to us.
Community is built on one act of care at a time. And every time you show up for someone else, you grow a little too. My advisor was right about that.
Finding Your Way to Give Back
There are many ways to get involved. Talk with your Staff Council representative about opportunities. Pick something small and meaningful, and start there.
When we give our time, our compassion, and our willingness to show up, we contribute to lasting change. And we strengthen our own well-being in the process.
Find your hour. Find your way to give. And you might just find a little more of yourself along the way.
Photo Credit: Hannah Busing on Unsplash