Elizabeth Vinson
Carroll Community College
Liz Vinson is one of College’s outstanding leaders in its Hill Scholar program, a selective admission cohort of first-year college students that includes honors courses, service projects and extracurricular opportunities. She is already a leader among her fellow Hill Scholars, embracing both the challenges and opportunities of remote learning by organizing group chats and a gift exchange. She also engaged with the wider College community through the Student Education Association and will become its next president. Liz’s rapid rise to leadership and community involvement is no surprise. She has always used her communication skills to help those in need and to inspire others. Her work for her high school newspaper included the coverage of the African American Read-in, an event where students from across the country performed poetry and short scenes written by African American authors. Her passion is helping children, whether it is tutoring, leading art projects at various community events, or designing a Halloween experience specifically for disabled children. She is pursuing a degree in Secondary Education with a concentration in English, and her plan is to transfer to a four-year university and become a Theatre and English teacher at the high school level.
Personal Statement
I am so passionate about service because not only do I get to make a difference in other people’s lives, but I learn so much every time I volunteer. I meet incredibly passionate people who dedicate their lives to making their community a better place, and I get to know myself better too. I have discovered skills that I had no clue I possessed while completing service projects, like artistic abilities, leadership skills, and an aptitude for communication. While I volunteer, I gain so much while I give to others. This year, I am interested in a project that benefits members of my community as well as the environment. Before the pandemic, I was a volunteer at a soup kitchen, and my experience there has opened my eyes to the lack of fresh produce available to families at, or below, the poverty line- even more so during a pandemic. Creating a community garden and compost area could contribute fresh produce to local soup kitchens and food pantries, benefit the environment, work circularly to create more soil for the garden, and provide the opportunity for socially distanced volunteer work.
