Communities

Because a community can be defined as, "a group of people tied together through some defining link. . ." I feel like the list could go on. But here are a few of the communities that I belong to, the Ohio State University Community, the Upper Class Learning Community, the Office Assistant Community, the Buckeye Connections Community and ServeCorps Community. For the first three communities, the main way I engaged in those is through participation. Whether it's taking classes here at Ohio State or going to social or athletic events. For the Upper Class Learning Community, I attend programs that the RA's throw and I attend work as well as social events for the Office Assistant Community. To be in the Ohio State and Upper Class Learning Community, I also pay a fee to be a part of them. For Buckeye Connections I volunteer my time to help the program, staff and participants. Through ServeCorps I also dedicate my time to the various events we have had so far, along with attending class every Friday. So far when ServeCorps has sponsored certain events, I have helped advocate these events by telling my friends and posting information about them on facebook. I think with all of these communities, the only way I can become a more active citizen is through learning. I can't continue to further my efforts unless I know what each community's needs are. One need for all of these communities is social capital. The more people that we know, the more likely they are to help us down the road which will in return benefit numerous communities. I think we can increase our social capital by talking to people. For instance, when I volunteer at Buckeye Connections, I can tell the staff members about my experience with ServeCorps. And when I am at ServeCorps I can talk about my experience with Buckeye Connections and so on... Knowledge is key. People cannot help fulfill other community's needs if they do not even know about the community in the first place. So I guess my answer to the question is word of mouth.