Toni is happiest when she’s helping others, and the opportunities available to her at WPI have allowed her to do just that. A renaissance woman in every sense of the world, Toni is a double major who makes her presence felt on campus every day, from serving as a Peer Learning Assistant (PLA) and Crimson Key tour guide to a community advisor and senator in the Student Government Association, but what means the most to her are chances to impact the local community through community service.

“I love the idea of coming together with others to make a difference for the greater good,” she says.

Toni donates her time to several organizations including the Mustard Seed and Autism Speaks, both of which she works at with her sorority, Alpha Xi Delta, but the organization that is most meaningful to her is Colleges Against Cancer (CAC). After losing her mother to pancreatic cancer, Toni joined CAC to promote cancer awareness, fundraise on campus, and help plan Relay for Life events. She currently serves as a Spirit chair, and was elected to the executive board as a Relay for Life coordinator beginning next year.

When asked how she finds time to participate in community service in addition to her other commitments around campus, Toni’s answer is simple: “It puts things back in perspective. Whenever I’m feeling stressed, participating in community service reminds me of what is actually important: finding time to help others no matter what, and being grateful for the opportunities that I have in my own life.”

Read more about community service work done by Toni and her peers in a profile from Community Service Month. Tewksbury, MA

Faculty Mentor

Jessica Karner, Academic Advisor

I make a to-do list of all the things I want to accomplish during the day.

I head to class, or spend some time volunteering as a PLA.

I have lunch with someone new, which is part of my goal of reaching out and meeting new people for at least one meal per week.

I’ve recently started taking time for meditation to help me reduce my stress levels and get more in touch with my thoughts, feelings, and personal goals.

Spend some time at the gym and finish up classes for the day.

After dinner and meetings, the rest of the day is spent catching up on homework, relaxing, and spending time with friends and family.

I have never felt more wholesome than when I perform community service, and am able to see just how much of an impact a small action can make.
Through doing community service, I have grown in humility and compassion, and have begun to understand just how impactful small acts of kindness can be. I have realized that even with small acts of kindness, I do have the ability to make change.
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