STUDENT VOLUNTARY SERVICES LEADER SHARES EXPERIENCE

 

 

    Student Voluntary Services is one of the largest organizations in Ball State which sends more than 3,000 students in to the community to serve others, according to the Ball State Website.

  Carly Gallmeister is the 2013-2014 president of the organization. She originally joined the organization because of a 50 hour requirement for teaching, but after becoming a part of it and getting to know the people in SVS, she realized this is the place she belongs.

   “Knowing that I’m making a difference every single day makes me so happy and it is a great sense of fulfillment,” she said.

   One of the main reasons she decided to run for president is to recruit a new group of volunteers who love giving back to the community, not just because it’s a requirement.

  “I wanted to engage these students who would normally not be engaged, primarily freshmen, and help them know that they do have a place on campus,” Gallmeister said.

    Gallmeister said the organization tries to connect with the students’ sense of compassion and help them create a sense of community outside of Ball State.

    “For a lot of students here, Ball State is just their community,” she said. “We want them to know that the Muncie Community is in that as well.”

    Another goal of Gallmeister this year was to create a new leadership position. She want to create a new executive chair on the board to handle social media and the public relations aspect of SVS.

    The organization had been trying to establish this position for a couple years and this year the goal will be accomplished as elections will take place for the position before the academic year ends.

    One of the strengths of her leadership style is the ability to adapt and work with the surroundings she is in.

    “The most important thing about having a leadership position is being able to know the people who you work with,” she said.

   One of the first times Gallmeister was largely involved in leadership and service was at a food pantry in her hometown of Evansville, Indiana.

    Her father was the president of a board of directors for a food bank. While she was in highschool she decided she wanted to give back.

     She became the youngest board member of the food bank in Evansville. Her goal was to connect to the youth and get them involved with the food bank.

     Gallmeister is a senior elementary education major and said that her time as SVS president will help her when she becomes a teacher.

    “Knowing how to manage people and give them clear directions has helped me to learn how to be a leader and take control in a classroom,” she said. “Being president of Student Voluntary Services has helped me see the goals I can accomplish.”