Kevin Gomez
La Salle University
Kevin is a freshman at La Salle University. He is one of our most engaged and ardent volunteers. He is one of the student coordinators of Pheed Philadelphia, a soup kitchen program. This program works at four soup kitchens five days a week. Kevin is also a student coordinator of La Salle's PAL program, which works with the Philadelphia Police Athletic League. This program provides afterschool tutoring and mentoring and aims to reduce crime, promote character development, and improve educational outcomes for the children in the program.
Kevin has also been selected to attend Project Mapendo, the University's Service and Immersion Trip to St. Mary's Boys Secondary School in Nyeri, Kenya, in May 2016. On this trip, Kevin will work with former street children who range from age four to eighteen.
Kevin is not afraid of asking the big questions. He constantly asks himself how he can best be of service to the communities in which he works, and takes time to reflect on his experiences. He is an exceptional listener and encourages others to reflect on they can best make social change. He has managed to accomplish all this in just 6 months on campus; his potential is extraordinary.
Personal Statement
I have always been interested in helping people, but I never realized how much of a difference I could make. During my sophomore year of high school I had the opportunity to build ramps, small bridges, and paint at a summer camp. We were building ramps and bridges for handicapped kids who otherwise wouldn't have been able to fully experience the summer camp. From that moment on I realized that there were so many people in the world that could use my help, whether it be disabled kids or a homeless man down on his luck. In my first semester of college I continued to be inspired by those kids I helped back in high school and have completed over 140 hours of service and mentor inner city kids at a Police Athletic League center. This summer, I'm traveling to Kenya to teach at a school. I understand that by me volunteering I am not going to save the world, but I have realized that I do make a little bit of a difference. My goal is to inspire as many people as I can to make a little bit of a difference, and eventually solve the big social issues.
