This story originally appeared in the Winter 2013 issue of Gettysburg magazine. It is written by Devan Grote '11.
Adding to the more than 150 Gettysburg College students, alumni, and staff who have traveled to New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, seven Burgians of the Last Decade took part in the first Center for Public Service (CPS) Alumni Immersion Project this past May.
I was one of the seven BOLD alumni – along with Becky French, Kate Banks, and Crystal Ebert, all ’05, Sarah Quinn and Ela Smas, both ’06, and Jason Parker ’09 – who united in New Orleans, wearing faded Gettysburg t-shirts. Ebert and Parker first proposed the idea for an alumni immersion project at the 2011 Volunteer 
Leadership Summit. We had all participated in CPS activities as students, so we were well prepared to think critically, act compassionately, and reconnect with Gretchen Natter, who directed CPS in our day and is now interim associate dean of college life.
Our group, like ones in the past, spent a week with the St. Bernard Project, an organization that provides rebuilding, financial, and community support to families throughout New Orleans. Natter joined us for a day of work and to deliver updates on the College. Time and again, residents thanked us for our efforts and — more importantly — for continuing to rebuild. Seven years after the devastation, Gettysburgians have continued to arrive en masse.
The New Orleans Immersion Project was an opportunity I regretfully missed as a student. I had a second chance as an alumna. Each of us had our own motivation, but we all took pride in representing Gettysburg College.
Building from this year’s success, CPS and the Alumni Office are planning a 2013 alumni immersion project. Stay tuned. Sign up. Go!
--by Devan Grote ’11 (pictured, right, volunteering for the Campus Kitchen at Gettysburg College)
Gettysburg College and the Center for Public Service earn national honor
Earlier this year, Gettysburg College was named a Presidential Awardee in the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. Gettysburg was one of only five schools to receive this distinction, which is the highest honor a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement.
With a community-based engagement program dating back to 1991, Gettysburg College and its Center for Public Service (CPS) prepare students to be active leaders and participants in a changing world. Students don’t have to go far to see firsthand this changing world—or be a positive force in it.
Find out more about CPS and the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.
Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.
Contact: Nikki Rhoads, senior assistant director of communications, 717.337.6803
Posted: Mon, 15 Apr 2013
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