Eliza Fogleman

While volunteering at Rise Up Community Farm, I spent my time there pulling weeds and making new connections. As soon as I arrived at the garden, I noticed how welcoming everyone was and could tell how passionate they were about the community farm. All of the volunteers got to choose from a list of tasks to complete and worked together to make sure everything got done. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience and was glad I signed up for it. It first caught my attention when signing up to volunteer because I have always enjoyed spending time outside and in the garden, whether it be pulling weeds, planting seeds, etc. This was a great experience because I got to spend time in the garden and meet new people. While talking with other volunteers, I learned that the organization's mission is to help the community by donating the food they grow to those in need. I thought this was really cool and a great way to help their community by being able to grow a bunch of their own crops and then donating the food. It is also a bonus that all of the food is fresh and healthy. This experience shaped my thinking about my future in business by reminding me that it is not as scary as I may think to try new things and meet new people. I think this experience will help me in the business world by giving me more confidence to go for different opportunities and improve my networking skills.