Harlan Caston

I earned my service hours by helping out at today's MYA Elementary and Middle School Championship track meets where I was given the tasks of raking the high jump pit, cleaning up trash, restocking water bottles, and assisting youth athletes throughout the day. While it may have seemed like a simple task when I first arrived, I got to witness first hand how many people it takes to put together and organize a successful event and everyone I worked with contributed to delivering everything on time. I enjoyed my time working with people who were patient and reliable while also counting on me to do my part and I enjoyed seeing the younger athletes having a sense of passion in what they do which gave me a greater appreciation and hope for the future of the sport.

I volunteered at the Snowden School CommUnity Festival where I helped vendors set up, oversaw the safety of different exhibits for visitors and helped clean up and put every thing back in its perspective place. Through this event, I was able to meet various other volunteers around my age group and grade level and the kind people who oversee and make this event possible every year. I cannot describe how grateful I was for the opportunity to get out of the house and help contribute to others' effort in making this city a better place.

My family, and I decided to run the 5k for my late grandmother who passed from Pancreatic Cancer in 2013. This experience was truly I life changing experience for me as I had never ran a 5k in my life before. I had planned to run the entire 5k but not even through the halfway mark my body wanted give out. What kept me going was my reason for running in the first place. Not just my grandmother but the other victims themselves. I wasn't just running for my grandmother, the goal was to bring a halt to pancreatic cancer in some way and to know that I could contribute to the greater good in someway is a humbling experience. This is something we plan on doing annually from now on as a family tradition.

It felt good to take a walk for Lower income communities and get to learn about certain fields that I want to get involved into. I learned plenty of things about certain medical fields or other fields that may interest me in the future.

I met wise people at litcherman who gave me advice for my life. They told me to find what fits me the most and explained to me the mystery of God that we may never understand because he is another being.

It felt good to help my advisor and her theatre students set up the play, knowing I can make others' lives easier by simply volunteering when seeing someone struggle. It's an enjoyable experience.

It feels good to help out the school and pay them back in some way for all they do.

Taking time this weekend to serve others less fortunate than me made me grateful for the position that God has put me in. It also made me understand that just because you’ve never been in someone’s shoes doesn’t mean you won’t ever be because anything can happen to anyone.