Today while serving with the Friends of the White River, an organization that is dedicated to the upkeep and the preservation of the White River close by Indianapolis, there were a lot of things that us participants could have taken from this day, but for me I got a really big lesson in passion.
Being a Missouri State student I hear “Follow your passion, find your place” almost daily, and generally that is a motto that I can get behind. Today, however, the folks that we had the opportunity to work with really followed through with that motto and use it to fuel their mission, and it was truly inspiring. To give a little back story, the seven students and two advisor set out to clear a part of the river bed that had been overtaken with honeysuckle that was killing the natural flora and fauna. We did everything from pulling, chopping, sawing, dragging, and burning these invasive species with the help of two staff for the Friends of the White River and one concern community member.
We had the chance to talk to these people while we were working beside them, and they had a passion for this river and the ecosystem that it provided. One of the members had been in the area for a little over 30 years, and one of the main reasons is because of the White River. Looking back at today, I think we did great work with removing the honeysuckle, but I am once again empowered to the mission that Missouri State has set out for their students.