Community Service Experience

 Question: What prior experience have you had with community service? How have these projects helped you better understand our community (or the community/ies in which you did the projects)? What skills have you developed through these projects? 

Luca's Answer: 

Since I was very young, community service and helping those in need have been significant to me. Aiding those in need has always been my interest because we all deserve respect and care in this world. In the past, I have worked with an organization built around helping immigrants settle in our community, providing them with the tools they need to overcome the various obstacles they face in Champaign-Urbana. The organization was previously known as "CU Fair: Champaign Urbana Friends & Allies of Immigrants & Refugees," now called "Immigrant Services of Champaign-Urbana" (ISCU). When working with ISCU, I traveled to different townships in East-Central Illinois, giving talks to various sized groups of immigrants and refugees. These were people who had just arrived in the country of had just begun to settle down here in Illinois. Many of them had come searching for work or escaping a country in harmful conditions. Many of them spoke little to no English, and only some had connections to the area. Due to these circumstances, our job as an organization was to point these people in the right direction and help them build these missing connections. Some of the aid we provided included housing and school registration, to name a few. For one summer, my mom and I went around Central Illinois, giving speeches and connecting tens of immigrants with local services to ease them into living in the U.S. and, more specifically, our community. This entire process was a great learning experience because, as I said before, helping those who need it most is very important. Being a child of immigrant parents, I understand that it is difficult to move to another country, especially when you do not know the language. Being bilingual helped me immensely because some of the families I encountered were fleeing developing nations in Central America. Overall, these experiences helped me grow as a person and I will always treasure the moments I shared with those families.

(Link to ISCU) 

https://www.isc-u.org/