At IU South Bend, the Honors Program is a community for high-achieving students. In addition to excelling in their courses, these students make an impact on campus and within the broader community. Among their core values is service, which the students demonstrate on more than one occasion throughout the year. Recently, the group volunteered at two organizations that aim to alleviate food insecurity within our community. On October 25, the group started early by serving breakfast at Our Lady of the Road, a center focused on extending hospitality through the form of free laundry services, hot breakfasts, and showers to its visitors. According to Lexi Benhart, the Honors Program’s President,”…the students got to work in the kitchen preparing and serving a delicious breakfast of egg casserole, breakfast sausage, and squash. The students who attended were moved by the response to the breakfast and the interactions they shared with the visitors. After breakfast and coffee were served, the students had a unique opportunity to sit down and share stories and experiences with the people in our community who their service directly affected.”
Following their service at Our Lady of the Road, the students packed boxes full of non-perishables, fruits and vegetables, and other staple food items for senior citizens at the Food Bank of Northern Indiana. The students, along with Honors Program Director, Dr. Neovi Karakatsanis, packed over 300 boxes! Although these are just two examples of the community service the Honors Program provides, Lexi states that “service projects such as packing boxes at the Food Bank of Northern Indiana and serving breakfast at Our Lady of the Road are perfect opportunities to reflect on what our community has done for us and how we can give back to our community.”
The honors program has so much to offer and gives great opportunity to all different kinds or people with different interests. The people involved are very inclusive and respectful. They are a very welcoming group.