Ithaca College Office of Student Engagement

The Office of Student Engagement and Multicultural Affairs (OSEMA), now the Office of Student Engagement, is dedicated to creating a supportive and inclusive environment on campus that complements the academic experience, connects and engages all students with the Ithaca College community, and provides opportunities for on-going personal and professional development. My volunteer experience with OSEMA started my freshman year as a participant in Jumpstart: Community Plunge. We volunteered at the Ithaca Youth Bureau and Brooktondale Community Center. I continued volunteering with OSEMA's "Service Saturdays" where I worked at Beechtree Care Center, as well as Love Knows No Bounds, Ithaca Peace Festival, Feed My Starving Children, and also participated in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. As a sophomore, I was selected to be a Jumpstart Leader in the Community Plunge program. I led a group of five Ithaca College freshman as we volunteered at the Fingerlakes Reuse Center and Tompkins County Public Library. I was also one of forty Ithaca College sophomores to attend the Leadership Retreat at the Treman Center. OSEMA has given me the opportunity to continue my passion for community service and build leadership skills. At the end of my sophomore year, I was awarded an OSEMA Scholarship for Campus Involvement. As a junior, I again applied to be a Jumpstart Leader in the Office of Student Engagement, and was chosen to lead a group of Ithaca College freshmen in the Community Plunge program prior to them beginning their studies at IC. We volunteered at the Ithaca Waldorf School and Tompkins County Community Library in Ithaca. Throughout my junior year, I continued volunteering with Service Saturdays, and continued to build leadership skills. In May, I was awarded 2019 Service Saturday Volunteer of the Year Award for my involvement with the Jumpstart and Service Saturday Programs. I will begin my senior year as a Jumpstart Leader in the Community Plunge Program. I look forward to participating in Service Saturdays, and other events sponsored by the Office of Student Engagement. Being a part of OSE has greatly enhanced my years at Ithaca College.