An Essay for an Honors Society Application, #1

Please choose a person or an event within the Georgetown community that has had a significant impact on you. Specifically, how has this person or event influenced your views on and involvement in community service.

Much of my time at Georgetown is spent with Matt, my roommate and friend. He is the first person I see in the morning, the last one I see at night, and the fellow who knows me best. Our friendship means much to me. When it seems like the world is closing in on me, he offers a view of hope. When I am excited about new opportunities, he stands beside me and shares a smile. When I have questions about life, he gives me a patient answer. Of all my relationships at Georgetown, my connection with Matt has proven to be the strongest.
Matt’s example of service has spoken volumes to me about reaching out to others. Like me, Matt became involved in HOPE freshman year. We participated in Friday Food, a project allowing Hoyas to hand out sandwiches to the homeless. I had the chance to volunteer alongside Matt, and we both found the experience rewarding. For the first time, we saw the homeless as real people with real needs.
Sophomore year, Matt tired of his service in HOPE. While he saw the benefits of homeless outreach, he also found the weekly event too-quickly fleeting and found a desire to invest himself even more deeply in the lives of the homeless. Borrowing stoves from Outdoor Ed and picking up donated food from a grocery store, Matt took to the streets and cooked warm meals for those who lived there. He invited the homeless to join him in meal preparation on the corner of Wisconsin and M, publicly identifying with those he served. Matt turned this activity into a new weekly event – an event I was privileged to take part in several times.
This year, Matt is going further still to find out homeless needs. I have woken up several mornings to find Matt’s bed empty, only to learn later that he spent the night under the stars and on the streets. He is constantly finding radical ways to serve others and, along the way, is challenging me to do the same.