NHS Meeting two transcript

[music] >> Hi everyone. Welcome to the second NHS video. I hope you guys all had a good first 6 weeks of the school year. And for all of you guys who have already started putting in your NHS hours, we're so proud of you and we appreciate all of your hard work and commitment. Coming up, we have the homecoming parade which NHS is so excited for. It will be on October 14th, 6:30 at Kilpatrick Elementary. And we know that a lot of you guys are part of other organizations, but we would love to see a strong NHS representation at the parade.

And remember that being a member of NHS means being committed and participating in NHS events. If you haven't already, please make sure to fill out the Google Form that Ms. Park sent on the Remind because we as many hands as possible creating the float and being a part of the parade. More information about the homecoming parade will be coming soon, so make sure to look out for information on the Remind and the NHS Instagram account.

Today's video is all about community volunteering, so please enjoy these interviews from our community. >> Hi everyone. I hope you're all doing well. Um, I just want to give a big thank you to everyone who's doing an interview for us for our meeting this month. I have the honor of introducing Dr. Minsner. Dr. Minsner has worked in education in Texas for over 30 years. She was the principal at Tice from its opening in 2016 to her retirement in 2023.

But, just cuz she retired from being a principal does not mean she has stopped. She does um, contract work for KDISH and she's an involved member of her community. So, the question that I asked Dr. Minsner is, "What does volunteering mean to you and how can you make this a lifestyle rather than just a box to check off?" But, this is Dr. Minsner. >> The things that I would think about is, you know, when you volunteer, you're helping other people.

And so, I think it's that whole moving from when you're focused just on me and my things um and then you move to focusing on we and our community. So, you know, you go outside of yourself and you start doing things for other people. And you know, and a lot of times the cool thing about volunteering is is that you can take um something that's important to your heart and you can combine with something that you care about, your heart, um with skills that you have.

So, you know, like if you're really good at cooking um or that you know that food is just such an important thing, then you can find ways that um you can support the community in some ways like that by collecting food for food drives, that kind of stuff. So, you know, you can you can take the skills that you have and your life experiences and help other people by volunteering because you have some things that maybe somebody else doesn't have.

And you know, the thing I really like most about um volunteering is that it always builds community. So, whenever you have a group of people who are working together for a common cause, they they always begin to start to know each other, they support each other, um and they kind of look out for each other. And so, you know, the it when I think about experiences where I volunteered, um it often like I meet people who I would have never met.

And you know, along the way, sometimes those people can end up being connections in your life that help you for um future jobs or different directions. Or it can also um just put you into a new arena of people that get you connected to things. So, um you know, the other thing about volunteering is that you you get lots of skills out of it. So, um at one point I was a volunteer coordinator for um something at Texas Children's Hospital where we designed um these dolls and so we I had to get people together to make them and then they were used in the child life stuff.

And so, you know, I had to learn how to get my different people to to get there on time and then how to solve problems when you run into stuff. And so, you know, when you're volunteering, you can use all those skills to that will help you later on in a job because, you know, if you have to rally people together and get them around a cause, I mean, clearly that's leadership. Um and, you know, I mean, one of the things that I like best about volunteering is that it makes you really recognize that this is our community and I have a role in making it better.

So, thinking about how um not just my own problems, but how can I do something that helps um everybody else. So, you know, having a a sense of doing of making things better for other people, um whether it's you know, maybe it's that you care about people as they age and those people are struggling with um maybe it's a housework thing or a yard work or they need a repair done in their house. Um sometimes groups of people can support them and do things like that.

But, um you know, I think there's just something really rewarding about knowing that when you do something is helping somebody else. And um you know, it's just we stop kind of just living in the place and we really belong to the place. And so, I think that's, um, I don't know about it as far as all I can think of and I'm I know I'm rambling now. Um, but just the biggest thing I think is it moves that focus from me to we and, you know, how can we create a better uh, world for everybody.

And that's by giving back and using our skills and talents, um, for connection and serving other people. >> Hi guys, it's Neha and I personally think the most important aspect of volunteering is the community you're able to build from it. Uh, so believe me when I say I know how scary it is to volunteer alone. Uh, this past summer I volunteered at the Fort Bend Women's Shelter by myself and it was just such a daunting experience.

I remember walking in and seeing all these other high schoolers working on their task and I was just so lost. It was like so anxiety-inducing, um, but as I continued to volunteer, I kind of just came to this realization. Um, I realized that even though none of us really knew each other before, uh, we were all here to better our community and we were all here for a larger purpose and that connection with those people around me really made the experience far less intimidating.

Uh, and it kind of gave me the courage to go up and talk to them as well. And we bonded over our passion for volunteering and helping others. Next, I'm going to turn it over to a senior Aditi and she's going to tell us about her experience volunteering at the hospital this past summer. >> Hi, my name is Aditi and over the summer I volunteered at the hospital. So, what I did at the hospital is that I worked there for two shifts.

So, on my first shift, I volunteered as the greeter. And what I did was I like kind sat near the front office area and as patients would come in, I would could help them now I could like help navigate them to their rooms. And if a patient needed a wheelchair, I could also wheelchair them to their rooms as well. And I basically just provided more information on like their appointment or like where they needed to go. And for my second shift, I volunteered at pre-admit.

So that's where I first went to the surgery room and I made sure all their supplies were stocked and I also helped with the paperwork of patients. So like I stickered on patient information on like with their respective paperwork. And my volunteering at the hospital was important and beneficial because it helped keep the environment more organized and it helped the patients like navigate through like the really large hospital cuz I remember like my first time there, I was really overwhelmed by like all the rooms and I really wish I had someone there to help me.

So I'm glad that I could be that person for the patients that were coming in. >> Hi Falcons, it's Anushka and today I'll be talking to you about the importance of volunteerism in your community and tell you about a few characteristics I discovered about myself during the volunteering process. So I think one of the biggest benefits you can get out of volunteering are the traits that you learn to have. Volunteering mainly with special needs kids, I realized that I had blinders on in my own educational career and I lacked the perspective that other students and teachers around me had and that's when I discovered what having an inclusive environment actually means and that starts individually um being inclusive.

So after being a volunteer for over a decade of my life, I realized that I have a lot more empathy for others and I'm a lot more understanding um about others and their situations and I think that's one of the biggest um superpowers that volunteering has given me. My name is Onwita Okpala and I'm in I'm currently a junior in Tompkins and I am 16 years old. >> Well, thank you so much Alitha for helping me with this interview.

Um, I just want to let you know I picked you for this uh student interview because you are a really good example of the NHS pillar service. Um, and I know you volunteer a lot for organizations that you care about like animals and plants. Um, and I just have a few questions about your volunteering experience starting with what is your favorite organization to volunteer at? And um, what organization did you volunteer at this summer? >> Yeah, one of my favorite organizations to volunteer for is Family Hope because um, of the community and the people.

And um, during the summer I volunteered there and one of my favorite things was to volunteer for like um, bagging up people's groceries and loading them into people's cars. >> That's really nice. That's a really good way to uphold the service pillar especially. Um, so why do you think volunteering is so important and how does volunteering play an important role in your life? >> Um, I think volunteering is very good for like um, everyone because you get to um, do like community service.

Like that's like very important. And um, one thing like I enjoy about volunteering is helping other people and I feel like that plays like a big role throughout like life in general and like your high school. >> Okay, well, thank you so much. >> Hi everyone. My name is Riva and one aspect of volunteering that I think is really important is the opportunity it gives us to help others. Um, over the past 5 years I've volunteered at all kinds of places from large organizations to even small local events.

And through these experiences I've realized that volunteering doesn't have to always mean something super huge or super big, but sometimes it's just simple as being able to be there when someone needs help. And I've gotten to see this firsthand whether I was helping a student learn something new, package food and supplies for people in need, or just helping a family have a better experience at an event. And in each of these situations, I could see how something as simple as my time and my effort could make someone else's day a little bit better.

And I really think that's what really makes volunteering super meaningful. You may not always see the impact of what you're doing immediately on the community, but your actions can just give someone an experience, a resource, an opportunity, or something that they might not have had otherwise. And so as you guys continue volunteering, I hope you don't only focus on the hours that you're completing, but instead you focus on the people you're helping because even the smallest actions can make a big difference. >> Hey guys, it's Lauren.

And today I'm going to talk about how a certain experience while volunteering has left an impact on me. One of the places I'm always drawn to when looking for volunteer opportunities is CAP. Also known as Citizens for Animal Protection. I currently serve as a volunteer with the dogs and do a lot of dog walking when I'm there. And one time I was working a shift when I found this little Chihuahua that just got moved in.

Getting moved into a shelter can be really rough on animals from all the noises to the different smells to how overstimulating it can be. So I was given the opportunity to walk this dog outside and he was so nervous that he just sat in my lap. It was a moment that I realized that volunteering doesn't only impact people, but it can impact the animals, too. Because that one moment may have been one of the best moments that dog had since getting to the shelter.

So it's super important to keep in mind that you're helping everyone when you're doing community service. It's not always just about one organization or one person, but about the community as a whole. So So keep this in mind when you're volunteering cuz it's super important. Thank you. >> Hi guys, this is a reminder that you guys can be getting in volunteer hours for the homecoming dance by donating 8 oz mini water bottles to Ms.

Robertson's room. Her room number is on the message that Ms. Park sent on the Remind. This is also a reminder that you guys get a total of four donation hours per year in NHS. That means that you know, you guys can go out and buy things and donate them for hours, but you can't get more than four hours because we really want to emphasize out in our community and volunteering. It's also important that we are not procrastinating our hours.

So March is going to come faster than you think and at that point in time it's going to be AP exam season and finals and just you know, ending the year and school can get kind of hectic and trying to get in your 20 volunteer hours at the end of or like by March is going to be really difficult. At the Ballard House, different events and organizations will set up different volunteer opportunities. So this past weekend Hope for Pink Texas host hosted an organization or like an event where you know, we were packaging different lunch bags that had been previously decorated with different snacks and chips and stuff.

And [music] yeah.