Stony Brook University is a great community that opens doors of opportunities for a diverse population of students to pursue their goals. Generally, the dimensions and directions of our goals progressively evolve from our freshmen year to graduation day. Most students come to Stony Brook with a certain set of mind and very specific ideas of their career of choice, interests, and life aspirations. Some stay focused on their planned tracks while others find satisfaction in fields they discover over the course of their undergraduate studies.

         The college experience does not simply create educated individuals with strong academic backgrounds. There is a lot of personnel growth involved in the process; a major transition that occurs from the teen years to adulthood. This  transition is so crucial, it builds and defines our character for many years to come. The complicated task of our growth is not limited to finding who we are as students and what we are capable of, after all this has been our occupation since childhood, but more so in finding who we are as human beings.

It might sound complicated but the answer lies in the word human - the origin of the word humane defined as the act of compassion, tenderness, and sympathy for people.

     It takes some effort to look through our daily distractions and the fast-pace highly demanding academic life to reach out to our community and do an act of kindness. However, neglecting one's need to be compassionate brings us a step closer to suppressing our most valuable asset as mankind - our humanity.

      There are many wonderful opportunities for community service on campus, and one of the leading programs that promote the importance of community outreach is the Americorps program. There are 85,000 people nationwide that join this organization annually and only a small group of 70 students exist on our campus. Americorps members dedicate a lot of their time and effort to meet critical community needs such as education, public safety, health, and environment. It is least to say an honor and a great responsibility to volunteer alongside with a great team of motivated students that care to make a difference in our community. The goal is to turn every reaction of "I feel so bad for someone" to an action of " I can make a difference!".

     Most students walk away from Stony Brook with a prestigious Degree and a bright future, but only fortunate ones get to walk away with precious memories of people that felt loved and cared for when in need.

"He that hopes to look back hereafter with satisfaction upon past years must learn to know the present value of single minutes, and endeavour to let no particle of time fall useless to the ground." ~Samuel Johnson.