STLF making a difference
Junior Corbin Gray looks down as he hangs Christmas lights at the Ronald McDonald House in South Fargo for one of STLF's projects. This year, the group decided to "pay it forward" in the community after their annual trip.
November 5, 2008 • written by Halimo Abdulkarim, Feature Editor
Filed under News
On the Students Today Leaders Forever (STLF) trip Oct. 22- 26 members traveled around the nation to pay it forward. Junior Dan Hoy enjoys being in STLF because it’s rewarding.
“It’s just making a difference, paying it forward you get a good feeling,” Hoy said.
Students encountered many different experiences on the trip, but one that struck out to STLF President junior Nicole Schmidt was when they were in Lincoln, Neb.
“I will never forget the nursing home we went to in Nebraska,” Schmidt said. “I can remember their startled and smiling faces as we came in.”
Schmidt met many interesting people, but there is one lady she grew fond of.
“She was 107 and had a great personality,” Schmidt said.
STLF members think making a difference in the lives of others is important to the organization.
Junior Katherine Roth joined STLF to impact her community.
“STLF has opened my eyes to children that are less fortunate than I or kids in my school,” Roth said. “By seeing how we can help other people and how much is need just within our community, I want nothing more than to donate my time to these groups.”
Three groups are included of three different areas in STLF the Ronald McDonald House, public relations, and the basketball game, which all provide service for the community.
Roth is in the Ronald McDonald House group, and she went to help decorate and put up lights for the Christmas season. The Ronald McDonald House provides homes for families whose children are in Fargo hospitals and need to stay close to them because they live far away.
Roth’s favorite part was interacting with her peers and the stories that were told by Ruth Hagel, the Volunteer Manager at the Ronald McDonald House.
“When we talked to Ruth she told us a personal story about this family and how they overcame their obstacles,” Roth said. “It was really inspirational; even though I’m a student and school comes first, it made me want to do something.”
Schmidt helps with all the different groups in STLF, and her favorite part is making a difference.
“I want to make a difference,” Schmidt said. “I have never had an opportunity to do community service until I got involved in this organization.”
Schmidt is head of organizing the basketball game to raise money for the Ronald McDonald organization.
“I like that we can make a difference in families,” Schmidt said. “I want families to know that we care.”
After the trip’s success, STLF members wanted to be more involved in their community this year and Schmidt thinks they are doing just that.
“We realized how much of a difference we made on the trip, so we wanted to come back and make a difference in our community as well,” she said.
Schmidt wants people to know helping is the key to making a difference, and sometimes it can be fun.
“STLF is not all about hard work,” Schmidt added. “It’s more fun than it appears to be as well as rewarding.”
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