One of the things I have really enjoyed about my time at Tuck so far, is the programs that I’ve participated in through the Allwin Initiative for Corporate Citizenship. I was first introduced to Allwin during my pre-term program TuckBuilds. In the weeks leading up to orientation, Tuck runs a number of programs that bring students to campus early so that we can start getting to know our fellow classmates as well as the campus and the community. In the TuckBuilds project I was on, the Allwin Initiative partnered with the Upper Valley Habitat for Humanity and we worked on building a house only 10 minutes from campus.
I had an incredible experience doing TuckBuilds, and I will definitely write more about that experience another time, but the reason I’m writing this post today is because of an Allwin program I did this morning.
Tuck Volunteers is a group of students who organize three days of a service each year, and today was the Fall Day of Service. I joined up with a number of other Tuck students and Tuck partners to do a volunteer project out in the community. My group was assigned to was to help clear a trail with the Upper Valley Trails Alliance.
Now, for the past few days, it’s been raining and raining and raining here in Hanover, so I was a little worried when on Thursday evening I received an email with the details of my project. The email said I’d be outside, working on a trail in nearby Norwich, VT, cutting back branches, clearing leaves, and digging up dead roots and leaves.
I instantly thought to myself: “Uh oh, I hope the weather clears up by Saturday…”
Well, here’s a picture I took while working on the trail:
So, yes. It was nice out.
Fall has always been my favorite time of year, and being able to take a few hours this morning to help preserve an Upper Valley hiking trail that everyone in the community can enjoy was pretty awesome. (I should probably note that not all of the project were outside or as physically demanding; Allwin and Tuck Volunteers work with many different local organizations.) I also got to work with people I hadn’t met before as well as explore a new place.
I really appreciate the second-year students taking the time to organize this day; it was a perfect break to take during a week of studying for finals. I feel like I was able to clear my head this morning and now I can approach my exams with a more open, relaxed mind. Which reminds me, I should get back to studying.
Read the full article: Tuck Volunteers Fall Day of Service