Mortar Board
I had always been reluctant to join Honor Societies because to me they all seemed a little pompous, an excuse to gather and revel in self-gratification. However, last year I decided to give Mortar Board the benefit of the doubt, especially since it was an organization that had a service component to it. When this year began, I was excited for all that we - a group of such highly motivated students - might accomplish.
However, I have to be honest, I've mostly been disillusioned with what our chapter of Mortar Board has accomplished. Our first big event was a Dick's Burger Feed before one of our big home football games. It was definitely a lot of fun, bonding with the other chapter members while we hollered at students from our make-shift hamburger stand set up in the heart of Greek Row. We were practically giddy as we fed off the energy of all the drunk frat guys and girls that fed on our burgers. Even though we got fairly drenched that day, our spirits were so high as we sold every last burger that we didn't care. However, when I realized later that the event was a fundraiser just to keep our chapter of Mortar Board going, money so that we could fund the President and Vice President's trip to the national conference as well as a pay for club expenses and the recruitment process, it seemed a little pointless to me. I felt the same way when we had another traditional Mortar Board event, the "wreath sale". I was actually pretty proud of my ability to sell $100 worth of ornamental Christmas wreaths, but again, when I thought about the fact that it was a fundraiser aimed to keep the chapter afloat, I was slightly disappointed.
Luckily, we did finally have a great service project. To help out the local YMCA Boys and Girls Club during Thanksgiving, we set up shop in front of a QFC and collected donations: canned goods, toiletries, and monetary donations. It was the first time that it felt like we were having a meaningful impact on the community, especially since when we told people who we were collecting the goods for, they immediately responded with warmth. I finally felt connected to the local community, not just UW but the people in the surrounding area too. It felt great to be making a difference in the lives of the shelter we were supporting, but also being able to share that with the people in the community too.
However, I have to be honest, I've mostly been disillusioned with what our chapter of Mortar Board has accomplished. Our first big event was a Dick's Burger Feed before one of our big home football games. It was definitely a lot of fun, bonding with the other chapter members while we hollered at students from our make-shift hamburger stand set up in the heart of Greek Row. We were practically giddy as we fed off the energy of all the drunk frat guys and girls that fed on our burgers. Even though we got fairly drenched that day, our spirits were so high as we sold every last burger that we didn't care. However, when I realized later that the event was a fundraiser just to keep our chapter of Mortar Board going, money so that we could fund the President and Vice President's trip to the national conference as well as a pay for club expenses and the recruitment process, it seemed a little pointless to me. I felt the same way when we had another traditional Mortar Board event, the "wreath sale". I was actually pretty proud of my ability to sell $100 worth of ornamental Christmas wreaths, but again, when I thought about the fact that it was a fundraiser aimed to keep the chapter afloat, I was slightly disappointed.
Luckily, we did finally have a great service project. To help out the local YMCA Boys and Girls Club during Thanksgiving, we set up shop in front of a QFC and collected donations: canned goods, toiletries, and monetary donations. It was the first time that it felt like we were having a meaningful impact on the community, especially since when we told people who we were collecting the goods for, they immediately responded with warmth. I finally felt connected to the local community, not just UW but the people in the surrounding area too. It felt great to be making a difference in the lives of the shelter we were supporting, but also being able to share that with the people in the community too.
This one great experience, however, hasn't been enough to offset my overall disappointment with Mortar Board. It was purported to be a way to create some deep social bonds, but our chapter really hasn't made an effort to get to know one another as well as we could have. I'm sure I have some fault in this: I definitely have not tried to go above and beyond in terms of reaching out to fellow members and really pushing the club to make more social events happen. I think if I had joined the leadership things might have been different. There was a previous Mortar Board member who was a guest speaker at one of our meetings, and he talked about how his chapter had gone on a weekend retreat and how they had become like a family over the course of the year. Unfortunately, I can hardly say that these people are my friends (unless you count Facebook). It's not to say that I don't want to be their friends, I really do want us to spark and come together. But the effort just hasn't been put in, and what disappoints me the most about this entire experience is knowing that we have so much potential, but not living up to it. I come out of this not blaming Honor Societies or finding my prior cynical perception of Honors Societies realized, but recognizing again that we will always get what we put into things. As I move on from Mortar Board, I go with the knowledge that it's not enough to be a community in name, but effort has to be made to create a community in spirit.