Impact of Involvement: Part 1 of a series

by Daniel Kent, Bridgewater's Best Recipient
The four Bridgewater's Best recipients will offer blog posts in the next weeks prior to Commencement. We congratulate them all on being honored with this distinction!

Words cannot explain how much achieving this honor means to both my family and me. I must say I wasn’t involved in high school in any clubs or organizations. The best thing I did for myself was transfer to Bridgewater, both through involvement and supportive faculty I found my path. My first glimpse at service at Bridgewater was through Circle K; I went to the Out of the Darkness walk in Boston. I remember meeting Jen Kelly then President and Peter Balboni, Vice President. Jen showed me the importance of civic engagement so I joined and actively attended community service opportunities. Peter introduced me to Kappa Delta Phi Fraternity; I saw both his commitment to community service and thought I could bring that passion even further. I had no idea what was in store for me until Peter introduced me to Jonathan White a Sociology professor. Jonathan White’s commitment to Social Justice introduced me to the growing problem of Homelessness. He inspired me work on Halloween for Hunger. A canned food drive held on Halloween where students instead of trick’ or treating for candy, instead picked up canned food items. It was then that I realized I could become a leader on this campus and make a difference. It was inspiring seeing the impact we had on our community and now after having done seven canned food drives over the last 3 years I realize they have been my favorite part of getting involved.

Thanks,
Daniel Kent