Brigette Barrow
Montgomery County Community College
Brigette Barrow is in her final year at Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) before continuing her education at Penn State University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. While at MCCC, Brigette has dedicated her spare time to fighting food insecurity within the campus community. Eager to help other students in this situation, Brigette worked with MCCC staff to conduct additional research about food insecurity on campus, assisted with collecting items for the College’s Stock Up for Success food pantries, and explored ways to make the food pantries even more sustainable. Her passion for this project stems from multiple personal struggles faced in her own life, including food insecurity. Brigette believes that, “When students who face food insecurity receive proper meals, a humongous burden is lifted.” Through her dedication to and work on this project, Brigette hopes to remove that burden for other students.
Personal Statement
I initially became involved in addressing the food insecurity issue at my college due to my own experiences with the issue. I started out volunteering at my college’s pantry with a friend; soon after, I started to donate items myself. Subsequently, I became interested in the system the college had in place. A major component of my philosophy about civic duty is to ask the people in need what their needs are. This led me to start talking with students who came into the pantry. Like myself, they felt the biggest problem we faced was keeping the pantry stocked. So, I combined my efforts with the psychology club to help keep the pantry stocked. Due to my passion, I led the charge and I am happy to report we were able to keep the pantry stocked for an entire semester, so far. Additionally, I will be working alongside the college’s pantry manager, so we can truly make the best changes. It is my hope that with each semester, the pantry becomes bigger and better. To ensure this happens, I plan on training a student in the psychology club to take over so that the tradition carries on.
