Hello faithful blog readers!

So, our group has settled into Summit and we're loving it! As a former Smith Hall resident, I really enjoy having my own room, and a kitchen to cook meals in. But moreover, I'm getting excited for our project!

As a senior in high school looking at Drury, I scoured the website trying to find out all I could about what it was like to be a Drury student. One of the things I stumbled upon was the page about Summit, and I thought it sounded so cool. I loved the idea of living in a community of students who were actively trying to better the Springfield area by partnering with an organization. It's an incredible opportunity for those who put in effort.

When our group was deciding on a project, we decided we wanted it to be centered around people, as opposed to animals or the environment. I am so excited to be working with Ravenwood Assisted Living; I can't wait to build relationships with the residents and do fun activities together. So far, we've held a movie and pizza night to recruit volunteers for the project, and it was a success! We had about 15 people there, and we watched Andrew Jenks, Room 335, a documentary about a 19 year-old guy who lives in an assisted living facility for a month as sort of a social experiment. It was a great movie - heartwarming, thought-provoking, and funny. We had some people who were planning to only stay about 20 minutes, but got so caught up in the film that they stayed the whole time. Watching the movie also got Katie, Brittany and I psyched for our project. We can't wait for our first event, coming up soon, which is a birdhouse painting party! I look forward to a great year of Summit.

- Candace