Making time for service in addition to full campus schedule
By Addie Nabholz ’25
Finding time to volunteer as a full-time student who is involved on campus can be difficult. Meer Mohammed ’25 has navigated this issue by participating in college-sponsored service trips.
Mohammed is a biochemistry major from Kurdistan. On campus, he is a resident assistant, a biology lab assistant, the vice president of I-Club, the vice president of the Asian Student Association, a chemistry tutor, and a member of Student Senate and the IINspire program. This doesn’t leave a lot of time for Mohammed’s passion for service. Luckily Wartburg College Service Trips offers opportunities for students to travel and engage in service over breaks in the academic year.
During Fall Break in 2023, Mohammed traveled to Minneapolis with a Wartburg College service trip. While there, the students engaged in packing food for people who struggle with food insecurity. After reflecting on the experience, Mohammed realized he wanted to lead a service trip.
He enjoyed the experience but wanted more. In addition to volunteering, he wanted to get to know more about the people he was helping and what factors contributed to their situation.
When Winter Break rolled around, Mohammed co-led a group of 11 students and one faculty adviser to Washington, D.C., where they would volunteer in a refugee resettlement. While in D.C., the group partnered with an organization called Homes, Not Borders, which works to help Afghan refugees settle in D.C. For their service, the group helped furnish and set up an apartment for an Afghan family of seven. The group also got to meet with the family.
“The participants got to learn a lot about a different culture and how to navigate those environments respectfully,” said Mohammed.
It was also important to Mohammed that the group learn more about D.C. itself.
“We went around the city and tried to integrate ourselves into the culture because every city is different. D.C. has a lot of history, so we went to several museums,” said Mohammed.
He recommends participating in service trips to all students and sees these trips as opportunities for self-development and education.