Ava Tsiouplis

My teammates and I volunteer with Miracle League many times a year. We genuinely enjoy going. When we are there, we are responsible for helping the teams play. Usually, we get paired up with one person and we are their buddy for the session. On this day, I wasn’t paired with one specific buddy because there were more volunteers than there were athletes. So, my role for this day was to wander around and help other people out with their buddies. I would often grab a ball and see if some of the athletes wanted to have a catch. Some of them enjoy playing and some of them more so just enjoy being there and being present. The younger kids often have a lot of energy. They are so fun to be around. I love hearing all of their walk-up songs and getting to know them and their personalities. After volunteering at Miracle League a decent number of times, you begin to know some of the players that are always there. However, it is also fun to meet new people. All of the people at Miracle League are so great. You can really tell how much all of these parents love their kids and how much energy and effort they put into them. Every time I volunteer with Miracle League, I feel extremely inspired.

When I volunteered to help with the freshman move in, the main thing I did was help the freshmen move their belongings into their rooms. My teammates and I took countless trips up and down many flights of stairs. I think that helping the freshmen move in is great because it helps make them feel welcomed during a somewhat stressful time. Teamwork was very important. We had to help direct cars so that everyone was being helped in a timely fashion. We had to make sure everyone’s belongings made it to the correct rooms. Not all of the boxes were properly labeled. So, we had to be very careful and make sure everything stayed together. There were also many instances where there was a large piece of furniture. It took multiple people to move things like fridges and wooden furniture pieces. We had to effectively communicate and help direct each other on where to go when carrying these heavy items up four flights of stairs. My team volunteers to help the freshmen move in every year. It is a great showing of unity. This service experience makes me realize the value of making others feel welcome. This is a very important aspect of leadership that I plan to implement into my own life.