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Hello, my name is Theresa Harrison and I am the Community Service Program Coordinator
here at USC. Community service is a huge part about being a Gamecock. Whether its getting
involved at MLK Day of Service, Service Saturdays, our Alternative Break Program or our service
leadership institute as a freshman, there are plenty of opportunities to give back to
the Columbia community. Each Saturday morning, Gamecocks can get out into the community and
serve for a couple of hours at local community food banks, parks, schools. It's just a time
for students to get together, bond and serve our local community together. Martin Luther
King Day of Service is our largest day of service here at USC. Over 500 students get
together on that Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. and serve the Columbia community.
Carolinians don't just serve in Columbia but they serve around the world. Whether it be
during their fall, winter or spring breaks periods, students go in groups and teams to
make a difference. They'll rebuild houses, they get involved in local food pantries,
as well as environmental efforts. There is a multitude range of topics that students
get involved with during an alternative break period, and this is just a way for Carolinians
to show that they care about all communities and not just what is going on here in Columbia.
For the third year, first year students have the opportunity to get involved in our service
leadership institute. It's a three and a half day institute that gets students involved
with service, leadership and involved in the Columbia community. Students have the opportunity
to network with one another, they get to know current student leaders and as well as do
service projects. They get to do a city tour, to know more about the Columbia community
in which they are living. Student go on to comeback as mentors, get involved in student
government, as well as leadership team and they have found that this is a great opportunity
to develop their leadership skills to propel them to do their best here at Carolina. Service
is important to the Gamecock community and we hope that you'll get involved in the future.
Make sure to come and find us in the Russell House, we're located in the Campus Life Center
and you can also find us on Facebook and Twitter. I'm Erika Lake with the Career Center at the
university. I am the assistant director for employer relations. It's really important
for first year students to know that the career center is a place for you to visit your first
year throughout your college experience. It is important to get involved early. There
are opportunities to network through our brand new program that we have called "Spur Connections."
Where you can actually explore various employment opportunities that you may be interested in,
you can find out what it may be like to work as a broadcaster or to see what an engineer
actually does and test it out before actually choosing your major. Students who are admitted
to the university are able to start using JobMate immediately, as well as alumni. It
allows students to look for part-time jobs, as well as internships and full time jobs.
As well as see who is registered for our job fairs and events and sign up for interviews
on campus. We have staff members that are available Monday through Friday from one to
four to meet with students individually; they can drop by without an appointment. And also,
it's just important, like I said before, to get involved early. Don't wait til your senior
year to get involved at the career center. We can help you from selecting your major
to helping prepare you for an interview.