After volunteering throughout her high school years, philosophy major Britta Jerdee took a break when she first arrived at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. But hopes of joining the Peace Corps and some personal soul-searching brought her back to it. This time around, she gained not only fulfillment from the work, but also started getting better grades en route to her May 2016 bachelor’s degree.
What inspired you to start volunteering?
I started volunteering when I was in high school, and it was because I was bored. I was a pretty good student, and during my study halls, I didn’t really have anything to do. So I would go to the special education office and help the students there with their homework and other things. Ever since then, I kind of decided that I liked doing it.
Why did you take that break in volunteering?
My first couple semesters, I kind of wanted to feel it out and figure out how much I could work into my schedule because I work part time. So I didn’t think I was going to be able to add that to my schedule. In my fifth year, I had a pretty good grasp on how the process goes. I was able to work it in.
What got you back into it?
I just love doing it. I also have this aspiration. Somebody in passing mentioned the Peace Corps to me in high school, and it’s a volunteering-based organization. In order to do that, you have to have a bunch of volunteer service, and I realized that I had kind of fallen off in my first few years of university. Lo and behold, I did much better in my classes, and I’m much happier.
It makes you happier? Do you know why?
I learned that you have to work on various aspects of your well-being. I realized that I wasn’t really working on my spiritual well-being, and that’s usually what makes you the happiest. For me, it’s helping people.
Where do you volunteer?
Next Door Milwaukee. It’s an organization where I get to go read to preschoolers to help their literacy. We get them engaged in the books. They get to take a book home with them and start a library of their own. So it kind of promotes at-home learning as well.
What made you decide to volunteer with that organization?
I went into the [Center for Community-Based Learning, Leadership, and Research] office looking for places that fit into my schedule. Specifically, working with kids. I have no idea why I like working with kids, I just feel more comfortable doing that. And I got in contact with the program.
Do you volunteer anywhere else?
I also started volunteering with Lake Valley Camp. It’s for high school students. We take the kids to campus to kind of immerse them in the scene, and then we act as mentors for the kids. We teach them what campus life is about, what university is about and how to get into it. A lot of these kids are prospective first-generation college students, so we try to inspire them to seek higher education. Valley Camp is an actual camp out in Boscobel. They’re involved in the program from, like, 9 years old. So a lot of times, it’s their first time going out in nature and experiencing working with the dirt. Horseback riding and canoeing and stuff.
How has it contributed to your experience at UWM?
Honestly, just the simple fact that I am happier. It helps me to engage, and it kind of is my getaway from school. I have that set-aside time where I get the opportunity to make peoples’ lives better, or at least make the contribution.
Do you have any advice for someone interested in volunteering?
Definitely go for it, even if it ends up not being your thing. That little sliver of an attempt to do so impacts somebody’s life for the long run.
