Learning Someone’s Story
Vienna D., Susan E. Wagner High School Chapter Vice President, appreciates the stories of seniors she connected with through GlamourGals and how her experience with the organization has inspired future interest in volunteering.
Each time I visit the seniors, I make it a priority to learn their names. I want them to feel listened to and understood because the seniors have beautiful things to share about. During one visit, I spent time with Anne, a kind-hearted and vibrant lady who mostly kept to herself. As I painted her nails, she smiled and said the shimmery pink-polish reminded her of her love for dancing, which led her to reminisce about her love of cooking and shopping. “I haven’t talked about what I love for years,” Anne whispered. Although she was surrounded by many kind workers, there wasn’t time for them to sit down and talk with her. What many seniors like Anne crave is someone to listen to their stories, and I always make sure that I can be that person for them.
My GG experience influenced me as an individual, as I am now much more open-minded and adaptable. Upon joining GG, I was nervous about visiting the senior homes and unsure about what to speak to the seniors about. However, after a few visits I began to become more confident with myself and my ability to connect with people of different ages and experiences. I realized that even though the seniors were brought up in different backgrounds than me, I could still connect with them and learn from their stories. I am now more open to sharing about myself and my interests, and I am a better conversation starter who asks meaningful questions to learn more about others.
In college, I want to continue volunteer work with community organizations, such as local schools and senior homes so that I can further GG’s mission of intergenerational connections. With GG, I have grown as a compassionate leader through communicating with volunteers in my chapter, recruiting new volunteers, and scheduling senior home visits. I am sure of my organizational skills as I planned visits, navigated the GG website, and held website demonstrations for new chapter members. I also organized a card-gifting event in which I encouraged my chapter volunteers to create cards for the seniors during Thanksgiving. As a GG member, I’ve learned to be thoughtful and compassionate in all parts of my life, and I have given this back to my school community. I initiated a community mural project at my high school to emphasize diversity and inclusivity, and I teach Spanish to kindergarten students weekly. My volunteering journey started with GlamourGals, and it will continue growing as I join new communities and venture into future endeavors.
