As a participant in Cornell Alternative Breaks this past year, and an incoming Trip Leader for the next year, I was already familiar with the Public Service Center before Mike Bishop’s Rose Cafe on Engaged Cornell; however, I was still surprised by a lot of what he discussed, which really illustrates just how many opportunities there are for public service at Cornell.

One theme we touched on during the Rose Cafe – a theme which has presented itself in several other Rose Cafes, I think, and has general relevance to our lives – is what it means to be an Ivy League student with privilege, resources, and opportunities abound that people in the surrounding community (and, honestly, most people in the world) will never be able to access. Almost everyone at the Rose Cafe had some sort of community service under their belt, but a lot of us shared the sentiment that sometimes volunteering turns into a burden or a requirement to fill, rather than reflecting a genuine interest or passion in the community. Especially at Cornell, I think a lot of people can relate to trying to fill up their resume during high school with volunteer experiences, only for those experiences to become vaguely-recalled blips in the past. However, this Rose Cafe reaffirmed the existence of a plethora of service learning opportunities at Cornell, to help students use their privilege for good.

For me, participating in Alternative Breaks was a really great way to reconnect with the same feelings that drove me to begin volunteering in the past, and continue to learn from and explore those feelings (this is a short plug to join Alt Breaks next year!!), but I also recognize that it’s not for everyone. That’s why I was glad Mike Bishop came to talk with us, because he really seemed to push the idea that regardless of your interests and goals, the Public Service Center at Cornell has a wide variety of resources and opportunities for getting engaged – it’s a really great place to start challenging everything you thought you knew about service.

Last week, I attended the Rose Cafe with guest Mike Bishop, who discussed community engagement at Cornell and beyond. Mr. Bishop is the director of Engage Cornell, and he discussed his career in service and how his program helps students connect with service opportunities. His experiences were very interesting to listen to, since Mr. Bishop has been involved in many different types of service and demonstrated that there are many forms of giving back to the community. This could involve fundraising, mentoring, and more. Specifically, Mr. Bishop commented on how he is energized by certain types of service, encouraging us to discover the form of service that speaks to us best.

Mr. Bishop also discussed the number of non profit organizations in the Tompkins County area is over 500 organizations, which is much higher than the national average. I thought that this was surprising and did not expect there to be so many organizations. This also demonstrated to me that there are many ways to provide service and connect with the community, and also that there may be many issues in the community that we may not realize. This Rose Cafe reminded me that being at Cornell allows me to pursue many opportunities that I may not have access to at home. I plan to reflect more critically on my previous service experiences in search of the method of community engagement that suits me best.

This Rose Cafe really helped illuminate many of the ways that the Public Service Center and also Engaged at Cornell can help students make the best of the resources around them and contribute to the community. I had no idea (and also found it really surprising) that Ithaca had an even greater density of startups than San Francisco which we think is among the cities with the greatest density of start ups. That really speaks to the innovation hub that we are living in, even though it may not always seem that way on an insulated campus. There are many nonprofits in Ithaca that are committed to improving our community and contributing through social justice, and Cornell students are welcome to contribute to the cause. Engaged at Cornell can facilitate these opportunities and help students be more involved with their surrounding community. I wish I had known more about this resource as a freshman.

Last week I attended a talk by Mike Bishop, director of Engaged Cornell, about civic engagement and the ways to connect with the community. I was really impressed by Bishop’s experiences in civic engagement, he seemed to have done work in almost every field possible. What really struck me about this talk was the sheer amount of ways there are to get involved with the community. It made me think about the fact that my engagement with the community can occur in many different ways. I do not have to settle on one path, but can jump among different ones as my own skill set changes.

Another key point I took away from the discussion was the idea of addressing root causes rather than the effects of systemic oppression. While helping victims is of course useful and appreciated, more will continue to suffer unless the root causes are addressed. Considering my own skillset, I hope that I can one day be a part of dismantling the systems that enable the continued oppression of minorities and low-income persons.

Mike was able to use his time at Rose Cafe in a truly meaningful way. We talked about giving back, and what we have each done in that past to help others. Then, he spoke to each of us about our stories, and what he saw within them. Furthermore, he was able to tell us his story. How he was always passionate about helping, but never thought he could get a career out of it. Once he truly felt this was his calling, Mike attended graduate school. From there he ended up here, at Cornell. And since then the rest is history.

In this Cafe, Mike told us how there are so many organizations in Ithaca and its surrounding towns here to help the locals and that they are always seeking volunteers. Now knowing this, I want to lend a hand wherever I can. Overall, Mike and Engaged Cornell really are a force for good.

This week’s Rose Cafe, led by Mike Bishop, Director of Student Leadership in the Office of Engagement Activities, was about community engagement at Cornell. More specifically, we discussed ways that we have given back to our community in the past, and what we can continue to do here in Ithaca. I was amazed to learn that Ithaca has more than five hundred non-profit organizations, possibly due to the large population of students in the area. I enjoyed getting to hear from everyone in the room since we had a smaller crowd this week, and was touched by how passionate some students are about giving back to their communities.