Student Testimonials
Office of Student Leadership and Community Engagement
Program testimonials
In reference to our GROW Peer Facilitators: "You shared so much with the students about meaningful engagement, social justice, and community building that is essential to student learning...The students were energized by your presentations, and you were all a powerful source of inspiration for them."
- Associate Professor Amy Den Ouden
"I would recommend BVS to anyone interested in nonprofit work or doing service work in the community. I learned so much about available resources and how these organizations run. I got practical experience for my resume and began building up my professional network. It was a great and wholesome experience."
--Jordan Waite, 2025-2026 Beacon Voyages for Service participant
"The students were lovely, productive, and really helped us out with putting together materials for community outreach and volunteer appreciation. They were engaged with our mission and excited to participate. "
-- Ellen Duncan, Volunteer Coordinator, FriendshipWorks
"This program’s commitment to being student-led has built incredible confidence and leadership skills in myself and my peers. I have learned to trust myself and my fellow BVS-ers, and I have watched us create together an incredible force for good, one which I believe can and should be shared."
--Madison H., 2017-2018 Beacon Voyages for Service Education Coordinator
"I have learned a lot during FLI besides the obvious what it means to be leader, I’ve learned the definition of compassion, courage, fairness and care. Ive learned there’s so many skills that goes into being a good leader-it was never just about age or experience.
--First-Year Leadership 2025 participant
“FLI [First-Year Leadership Institute] gave me confidence in myself as a leader at a new university. It also gave us countless role models (all of the mentors and leaders of the program) that demonstrated that we, as students, could make a real difference at the university.”
--Samantha Zeno, USG Vice President 2018 - 2019