Bridget Heaton '11

"Being a community mentor means a lot to me because it not only is a job, but it is a way of accessing the community on a more personal level, and it allows me to get to know St. Lawrence County, a place that I am living for four years, on a much more personal level.  My first semester last year, I was enrolled in the FYP Making a Difference in a Democratic Society. In this class I not only learned about how all people have the ability to make a difference and make change in their societies, but I was able to personally make a difference first hand in the St. Lawrence community by volunteering at the Free Will Dinner in town. This particular placement appealed me at first because of the concept of the project, and the convenience of the hours of the week it fell, but over the course of the semester it grew to mean so much more to me. I got the opportunity to make connections and form relationships with people the community and I was able to see that although St. Lawrence County is the poorest county in New York State, that these people were no different from myself, and were just experiencing some hard times. In fact, I personally do not come from a very high or wealthy economic background, and many of the things that these people struggled with on a day to day basis like heating their home and providing dinner every night, were the very things that my family struggles with everyday as well. I formed a kind of bond and connection with these people that I felt my peers did not truly see to its full extent. I really was able to reflect on my encounters, experiences, and emotions through my journal in FYP. In some cases it was almost a form of therapy that forced me to deal with things that I did not even realize bothered me about my own life and situation. It ended up being 40 pages single spaced, and is truly one of my most cherished accomplishments. Being a Community Mentor gives me a vehicle again to help the community as well as continue to examine myself and my relationship to the world. I am extremely proud and excited to be a Community Mentor this semester because it means far more to me than just a job."

Bridget acts as the CM for the Anti-Hunger Project for the FYS: Food for Thought and the Freewill Dinner Program..