For recent graduate Amber Flanigan, service is an expression of love for your neighbor and a means to touch lives in several capacities. She sees participating in public service and outreach as an opportunity to extend the many resources available at UGA to communities and people throughout the state.
What is your major/minor?
I am a psychology major with minors in human development & family sciences.
Hometown?
I am from Lithonia, GA.
What does service mean to you?
Service to me is an expression of love for your neighbor, a message paramount to my faith. It is a means to touch lives in several capacities.
What made you want to get involved in service at UGA?
Realizing how blessed I am to be a student at UGA with an infinite amount opportunities and resources continues to motivate me to get involved with service at UGA and to give back to the Athens community.
What service and leadership opportunities are you involved with at UGA?
As a Public Service and Outreach Student Scholar, I have been working as an intern at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia this spring. As an assistant in community engagement in the Office of Service-Learning, I work with Campus Kitchen. I also volunteer as a mentor and tutor at the Performance Learning Center.
What do you feel has been the greatest benefit of your service at UGA, within the community and in your personal life?
Volunteering at the Performance Learning Center (PLC) has not only allowed me to the chance to help the students improve themselves by acting as tutor but I have also improved myself by learning from the students at the PLC. Helping the students work towards gradation is rewarding and relevant to my own experience as a senior this year working towards graduation in May.
Why do you feel it is important for students to participate in public service and outreach? How do you benefit from it?
We have so many resources available to us as students at UGA. Participating in public service and outreach presents an opportunity to utilize these resources outside of the campus for the benefit of the community and allows growth for the community and the students.
What are your plans after graduation?
Pursuing graduate education in Human Sexuality and Counseling.
What are your interests and hobbies outside school?
I love music and cooking, and I recently am getting into Yoga!
What is your favorite spot in Athens, at UGA or in Georgia? Why?
My favorite spot in Athens is Ben Burton Park. The park is beautiful and I have great memories there. I love being on the River and walking through the woods. My favorite spot at UGA is the garden across from the Forestry Resources Building. Sometimes a folk band plays there!
What motivates or inspires you in life?
Striving to fulfill the purpose God has for my life and the chance to have a positive influence on the lives of others.
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?
When people show you who they are, believe them. These are originally the words of poet Maya Angelou but I first heard them from my parents.
To learn more about Amber’s experience as a Public Service and Outreach Student Scholar, visit http://psostudentscholars.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/internship-at-botanical-garden/.
