Noreen Mika

Service Learning Journals- HON 3000 Requirement

SOC 2000
Dr. Zachary Brewster
Volunteered from 9/12/16 to present

Learning Journal #1: September 12th, 2016 5:30 PM- 8:30 PM

Non nobis solum nati sumus Marcus Tullius Cicero. Although at first it may seem as if this
quote is a bunch of gibberish, the meaning behind this quote is actually, Not for ourselves alone
are we born. This quote has also been my motto since I began volunteering for the organization,
St. Jude Iraq in August of 2015. Since then, I have gone from being a member to serving as the
youngest board member as the secretary. During this meeting, we brought up the organizations
mission statement. Currently, our mission is as follows: St. Jude Iraq is a nonprofit foundation
bringing hope to internally displaced children of religious minorities in Iraq and refugees in
diaspora. We bring hope to the suffering, sick, and homeless children who are the victim of war
and persecution. We spent the course of this meeting debating whether or not we should add the
word orphan into our mission statement. Due to the ISIS attacks, there is a large amount of
orphans spread across the country of Iraq. Many children have lost their parents in attacks and
live with relatives or in orphanages. Nonetheless, many of these orphanages are actually very
well off and the children have enough necessities to have a good life, yet there are many other
orphanages in poor and dangerous areas like Dahok and Baghdad that do need support. However,
due to the fact that most orphanages are well supported, we decided to not add the word
orphanages into our mission statement because we fear that many people who know of the well
established orphanages in Iraq will get the wrong idea and think that we are helping any children
that belong to all of the orphanages even those that are well supported. We believe that our
mission statement is broad enough to communicate to people that we truly do help all and any
children who show the signs of neediness. We dont turn a child down in our organization, unless
provided evidence proves that a child truly doesnt need any help. Nonetheless, during this
meeting, I couldnt help but constantly think about how these children may suffer. In our class,

weve learned about how important social integration is. These children have went from having
families and being happy to being attacked and some of them even have to live in institutions
(orphanages). If the children dont experience within the orphanages or even feel as apart of
society, they sadly wont feel as assimilated as they would in their new environments. The cool
thing about this concept is it doesnt only apply to orphans; it also applies to the refugees and
displaced people who had to leave their homes because ISIS attacked them. Yet, something that
intrigues me is how we connected social integration and freedom. Weve said that the more
socially integrated a person is, their independent freedom goes down. I agree with this statement
and I see it happening around me, but when I think about Iraq and these children, I cant help but
think that what if there is no freedom to begin with for them? How can they be socially
integrated in a society that is basically trying to get rid of religious minorities and constantly
trying to destroy property and land that make up an ethnicities cultural ideals? There may never
be an answer to questions right now, but I know that sociologists are working on an answer to
this question. Why do we let race and religion come between human lives?

Learning Journal #2: September 13th, 2016 1:00 PM- 9:00 PM

Although I ended up spending a lot of time volunteering for St. Jude Iraq today, I realized that
this was largely due to the fact that I spent so much time fixing and organizing the St. Jude Iraq
website. The website we originally had was so unorganized and unprofessional. It lacked clarity,
direction, and half the links on the website didnt even work. A HUGE problem with the website
was also that it wasnt mobile friendly. This couldnt help but make me even question the
reliability and validity of the organization. Being a nonprofit organization with a 501c3 is not a
joke. Because 501c3 tend to deal with money, we have to establish a sense of credibility for our
donors and our supports. The old website truly lacked all of this. I knew that something needed
to be done. I started on working on this alone, but I realized that graphic designing was so above
my expertise. I ended up reaching out to a graphic designer and I had to meet with him and work
side by side with him to get the website to look exactly the way I wanted it. I ended up creating a
site map that had all of the content and pages I wanted the website to have. Together, we then
worked on teaching me how to post articles, donation campaigns, events, and more. When I
looked at the old website, it was reliable in the sense that every time I went on it for something, I
would always see the same thing. Nonetheless, the validity of the information was not all there.
The mission statement on the website was not updated, nor was the logo, or the links that never
worked. There was no place to volunteer and the link to donating money was very shady. The
colors of the website were too bright and unprofessional. Finally, the fact that the website was
not mobile friendly looked so amateur because of the culture we live in today. Because of this
technologically based culture we live in, ensuring this small stuff like a mobile friendly website
is very helpful when someone just heard about the organization and wants to know more about it.
After working with Chris, the websites graphic designer, we were able to make the website even

more reliable and valid. Knowing that all the information is currently updated helps us establish
our validity as well as reliability as an organization. I added names of the board members to
allow people to know who is actually serving on this organization and I added a contact form for
people to ask questions about what this organization actually is or even if they have suggestions.

Old Website

New
I know I dont have to attach images, but I just wanted to put into perspective the difference
between the two websites. The first image above shows our old website, the old logo, the
different tabs that werent clear and didnt direct a person to links. The new website more
organized, clearer, and stays true to some of the design of the old website through the How Can
You Help? section. I just tried to keep this new website clean and concise so that people can
easily navigate through the effective and professional site! Website: www.stjudeiraq.org

Learning Journal #3: September 20th, 2016 12:00 PM-9:00 PM

Today was the organizations 1st Annual Appreciation Mass. This is a Catholic mass celebrated by
the founder of the organization, Fr. Wisam Matti, to express appreciation to all of the donors that
support St. Jude Iraq. Recently, the organization has made the switch from being a non-secular
organization to becoming a completely secular organization. It took us a while to decide this, but
because we would like to go big with this organization and hopefully get government grants,
we need to become secular. However, this does impact a lot of the events and things we do as an
organization. For instance, this directly impacts the appreciation mass we just hosted. This
impacted our logo, as we had to remove the crosses that were found on the sides. Before our
meetings start, we always say a prayer, but we have to learn to move away from this. Another
interesting aspect is the fact that the founder of our organization is a Catholic priest and we are
established in the church (our address resides with the church). We have created a culture in this
organization that attests the values and beliefs of the members, yet we need to go against this
culture due to a higher power, an institution, like the government. I also cant help but think
about how important this symbolic interactionism is in St. Jude Iraq. We do have to learn how
to move away from this and I really think that it will act as a cultural shock on many of the
members of the organization. As an organization, we rely on symbolic interaction to help us
develop social interaction. We begin our meetings with prayers and we celebrate masses to show
appreciation. Now, we have to find a way to say thank you to our donors without inviting them to
a Catholic church for a mass, but instead to a small venue for a speech and desert. Ive learned
that Max Weber says that religion drives social change, so I am excited to see how we will
change our ways as an organization without the presence of religion.

Learning Journal #4: September 27th, 2016 7:30 PM-9:00 PM and October 4th, 2016
Over the past month, I have been working on a program for the 150 children St. Jude Iraq
sponsors in Baghdad, 31 in Alqoosh, and 13 in Duhok. These children all fit one or more areas of
the criteria system we have established of being displaced children, refugees, sick and suffering
children, homeless, orphans, and coming for poor economic situations. Each child truly has a
different story to tell with what they have been through and some fighting various conditions.
The entire time I worked on this program throughout the course of the month, I constantly
related this back to Verstehen and the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. First of all, I truly dont have
any insight into the childrens situations (Verstehen). I have never been to Iraq nor have I lived in
Iraq to understand what the children have been through. I am also blessed to live in a country
where I dont have to fear being attacked or killed at any minute of the day. When I see the
homes these children live in and when I get their situations translated to me, I actually cant
believe how much they have to go through. Although these children may be 5, 10, 16, or even a
few months old, their situations have made them older even though they are still young.
However, I also recently received photos from these children and their families as confirmation
that they received their $100 monthly sponsorship and I was surprised to see the homes they live
in. Some of them actually live in really nice homes, so it made me question, Why are we
sending them money when they live in homes with these nice carpets and couches? It wasnt
until we had a board meeting and discussed this with the person in charge of distributing money
that many of these families live in homes of those who fled Iraq because of ISIS. The more
information I learn about these children and what they face, the more Verstehen I am able to
acquire. The other thing that creating this program has helped me understand is the Sapir-Whorf
hypothesis. Without language, we wont be able to think. Language is what shapes our reality as

humans and it allows people to share a common culture. All of the cases we get with the children
come in Chaldean/Arabic. I cant read or write in Chaldean/Arabic, but I can speak it. Its
interesting to see how language is applied as a system of symbols and allows people back home
in Iraq and us in American to communicate the same message. Without this language, we
wouldnt be able to even accept medical cases, unless the person in charge back home of the
various areas knows how to write in English. This also show how important culture is and
having this culture passed down between generations, because if it were lost like it is for me (I
dont know how to read or write), my kids also wont be able to do the same and one day,
nobody will know how to read or write in Chaldean/ Arabic.

Learning Journal #5: September 19th 2016 5:00-10:00 PM

Today I was so blessed to experience my 1st Rummage Sale. This is another event we have done
in October to keep the funds coming in for St. Jude Iraq. On average, we send $30,000+ each
month for schooling, medical surgeries, monthly sponsorships, and a few other small projects.
Every month we try to host an event to find creative ways to raise money as an organization and
not just ask for constant donations. Something weve been working on is to not only make the
organization known to Chaldean people, but to the outside community. Luckily for us, the
Rummage Sale did that. For Chaldean people, although I am generalizing, we come from a
materialistic culture. Whether a family does have money or not, the car, clothing, accessories,
and even purses are important to Chaldean people. This truthfully is upsetting because its not the
only thing that makes Chaldean people Chaldean, but if you were to stereotype, this what you
would hear. I noticed that many people donated clothing for the Rummage Sale and common
household goods. Because it is a donation, you would expect that the items donated wouldnt be
in the absolute best condition, but a good amount of the items werent that feasible. At the end of
the donation period, we had a huge room filled with clothes that we organized into categories
based on size, age, and gender, and then we had a room for kitchen supplies and household
goods, and finally a miscellaneous room that had kids toys and religious items. The really nice
thing about this event is that we expanded it to people outside our community through randomly
deciding to put the event on Craigs list. For an organization that began because of religious
persecution, I think we did a pretty good job at getting people from the outside community to
buy clothing and other items. A manifest function of this event was to make money, a latent
function was to expand our social outreach and we successfully accomplished this. Nonetheless,
a latent dysfunction through this event was the time and stress we encountered. We never knew

that receiving so much clothes and goods would take so much time to sort and organize. Instead
of us setting this up and being done with it in one days time, it took countless hours for three
days in a row.

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Learning Journal #6: September 20th 2016 1:00-9:00

Today I worked on putting a video together of what the organization is. A couple of volunteers
and I sat and we drafted ideas as to what the organization does, how many children we help, who
were helping, and how to get involved. We also took videos and photos of children I have
received from Iraq, confirmation of successful surgeries, confirmations of children receiving
monthly donations, and even a few photos of the members who make up the organization and put
it together in a video to play for our events. After realizing how much videos and photos I have
of these children saying thank you and being so gracious, I immediately felt so blessed. These
children are so humble and thankful for what they have, even though many of them live without
the daily necessities needed in life. It was an eye-opening experience and it made me realize that
history does show our biographies. In terms of who we are as people, it is the ancestors and
parents of these children who establish the history. My culture comes from a long line of
hardworking people because this is what you do in Iraq. To make ends meet, men often work at a
young age and they dont complain, they are tough and strong. Even though these children dont
have a lot, they are tough and strong and they are thankful for what they do have. Even though
we may have a materialistic culture in America, in Iraq we are hardworking people that persevere
through hard times. This is what makes our biography and this is the biography the children and
their families have in Iraq. As I think about their situations, I realize that instead of facing a
personal trouble, they are actually facing a public issue. People in Iraq are living the way they
are, in fear and distraught, because the institutions went wrong. The government cant support its
people. A terrorist group that claims to represent the Islamic state is attacking the country and
one person cant solve the root cause of this problem. This problem is beyond the power and
influence of an everyday person living in Iraq.

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Learning Journal #7: September 20th 2016 1:00-9:00

Today I was lucky enough to meet with a priest who came all the way from Iraq to inform people
in Michigan about the current situation they all face. Fr. Solar Bodagh knows of the organization
St. Jude Iraq because he goes around the town Alqoosh and visits the 31 children the
organization sponsors. He visits these areas and makes sure that they are a family who has a
child that is affected in one of the ways outlined through our mission statement. He also makes
sure that the families of the children do need the financial assistance the monthly sponsorship
provides the family with. In our meeting, Fr. Solar communicated one beautiful message to me
that I never thought about. He said, our brothers and sisters back home are prideful and so upset
with the situations they are in, that the are fearful to burden the people here and ask for more.
When he said that to me, I couldnt help but think about how important history and biography
is. The people in Iraq went from having so much to having it a lot taken away from them and yet
they still fear that they are a burden to us here in America. It also made me really think about the
norms we have in the Chaldean culture that reinforce our values as people. A norm that is
highly enforced in the Chaldean culture is that the man provides for the household, despite the
situation he may be in. Because the men back home are shaped by a history that has taught them
to be strong, tough, and to be the breadwinner of the family, this is a value that is hard to not
conform to. In a way, asking for help and donations from people in American is a way of looking
cowardly. Although this is upsetting to say the least, men have to conform to the new values and
norms in society because of their situations and accept the help that is being offered to them.
Although their individual beliefs contrast with their values, their situations are what they are
and instead of being prideful and upset, they have to accept this new reality that they face right
now.

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Learning Journal #8: September 27th 2016 7:30 PM-9:00 PM

Today I went on the St. Jude Iraq website and I noticed that I had a few volunteer applications
that I have not looked at for a few days. I was really happy to see that these volunteer
applications came from people of many different backgrounds and areas! One of the volunteer
applications came from a lady in Chicago. She wants to start a series of clothing drives to send in
containers to Iraq. I thought that this was a really nice idea as it is one of the visions the
organization hopes to fulfill. Another volunteer application I received was one from the
department head of the neurology department at Oakland University. He knows that we receive
medical reports for the medical surgeries we pay for and was interested in reading them for us
and letting us know about the seriousness of the diseases these children have. Finally, the last
volunteer application I received was from a mother who thought that St. Jude Iraq was apart of
the research and cancer hospital St. Jude. I realized that from this volunteer application, it is so
important to read about organization and what their mission statement is. I dont know how she
confused us, but she thought that she would be able to volunteer in a hospital as a volunteer for
the organization. Although I talked to her about our mission and how it is not affiliated to St.
Jude, she still said that St. Jude Iraq was an organization she is interested in volunteering at.
Handling all of these volunteer applications, the website, and my job as a secretary for the
organization is a lot to manage at times, but it has helped me undergo the socialization process
of being a volunteer. I realized that even though I get a lot of volunteer applications, I dont have
a lot of active volunteers to always be there and help with another project. I now understand that
many of these people havent volunteered for a nonprofit before and dont understand the
socialization process that I have been basically trained to undergo as a board member of St. Jude
Iraq.

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Learning Journal #9: October 4th, 2016 7:30-9:00 PM

Today I met with another key figure in the community, a singer named Linda George. She comes
from an Assyrian background so she is still a member of the Middle Eastern community. I was
lucky enough to be the point in contact with her and I established a good relationship with her. It
was funny because when I met her, she thought I would be an old lady. She couldnt believe her
eyes when she met me and noticed that I was a young adult. We basically got into contact
because through her occupation she does have authority and prestige. To make St. Jude Iraq
spread wider and to make more people know about the organization and what our mission is, we
asked her to become the public advocate of this organization. I realize that we are still reaching
out to people in our own community, but because she already knew about the organization and
the children we help, I knew that we would have her support. My next goal is to expand my
outreach and find someone who will advocate from the American community for example to
gain more support. Nevertheless, during this meeting she told me that she would use her
authority to get the organization produced. She is making another trip to Iraq later on in January
and will take a camera crew with her and visit areas in Baghdad, Alqoosh, and Dahok that have
children we are helping and take videos of them. Of course, we will need to establish this idea
more and make sure that there is consent from people, parents, and even the government,
because if we dont do that then Linda will be exercising her power over the people and not her
prestige or resources. Moreover, Linda also told me about how she will use her occupation, she
will use the prestige she has and will talk about the organization. When she has box shows (the
money collected is given to an organization), she will start donating the proceeds from these
shows to St. Jude Iraq and will post information about the organization and specific cases on her
social media to help make the organization more known to her fans and supporters!

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Learning Journal #10: October 11th, 2016 7:30 PM-9:00 PM

Today I received an email from the co-chair of the organization, Anaam Asmar. When she
receives emails from Iraq about medical surgeries that are needed, she forwards them to the team
of board members that make up St. Jude Iraq. All of us board members understand that it is our
job to read through these reports and to formulate an opinion on whether or not we accept or
decline the medical cases. If it is an urgent matter, we approve the case and discuss it over text,
but if there is time, we wait until our board meeting and come to a consensus as a group. The
most recent medical case I received was from a young baby girl named Mariam. She needed an
eye surgery that cost about $2,200. At first, I immediately approved the case, but then as I
scrolled through the reports and the supporting images I received from the doctors and team back
in Iraq, I realized that this surgery has already been performed. I noticed that instead of asking
for money to cover the cost of the surgery, they were actually asking for money to help the
family to recover after the surgery has already been done. Now that I realized this is the situation
at hand, I was left upset. Then I realized that I wont be able to help every child and family in
Iraq, its not practical. There are too many people to help and I have to think logically not
emotionally. The family already found a way to pay for the surgery; they didnt come to us first
to provide them with financial support for the surgery. Because this course of action has already
been taken, there is nothing we can do with this case. We have to accept the outcome for what it
is. Ive learned in class that this is the objective way of looking at this. In a way, this case was
presented as a case study of one individual and her condition. We had to study and review this
case and then come to a logical and objective outcome without making excuses or being unfair
to another medical case or group of children that we make encounter in the future or that we have
already encountered as an organization.

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Learning Journal #11: October 20th 2016 7:30 PM-9:00 PM

Today the board and I spent time talking to our point in contact back home. His name is Maan
and he is a deacon in one of the remaining churches in the area. Because I have never been to
Iraq nor do I understand the situation that many have to face, I have only indirectly established
Verstehen. We spent the course of this board meeting talking to Maan about the situation in Iraq.
As Ive mentioned throughout the course of this learning journal, Iraq and the people living back
home arent in their living in the most ideal situations right now. Ive learned to connect what
Maan has told me to the idea that sociology studies social fact of social dynamics. Society is
always changing and this is extremely prevalent in Iraq. It went from being a nation that was to
an extent free, people were able to walk outside and know each other, we had villages and
churches, but it was quickly taken away from ISIS. Oppression quickly set in as people were
forced to leave their homes or convert to a religion and an ideology that they werent born into.
People were forced to say goodbye to their families and loved ones in fear of being killed. People
living in Iraq had to flee their homes and they werent able to take anything with them to ensure
their safety. This is the social fact that sociologists study that make up a society. Sociologists are
able to take this situation and they are able to see how society is not organized through the
problems that arose on these individuals. All of these things that happened in Iraq that caused
people to be living in the situations they live in now happened outside of the control on every
day citizen and inhabitants of the area. As sociologist study the social fact of social dynamics,
they realize that these things happened and existed independent of the individuals and more
into the institutions that the individuals live within.

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Learning Journal #12: November 15th 2016 7:30 PM-9:30 PM

Today I was sitting at a board meeting and we were discussing more events to plan for the
upcoming year (2017). My fellow board members constantly brought up the fear of losing
money from events that we want to plan. They also feared what population we would attract.
Whether our events will attract families or teenagers? We know that to have the most support, we
would need to attract families, yet I was surprised with how fearful we were as an organization. I
immediately connected this back to the Culture of Fear we stressed upon in class. We
understand that fear is important and it is what makes us aware of immediate threats that lie
around us. Year, we fear the wrong things. Instead of fearing poverty, a real fear that can happen
to anyone, we fear failure, not making enough money, not having enough support. Although in
this discussion we dont necessarily have to think about fearing poverty, we promote unfound
fears as an organization. When our backs are turned to the real things that we should fear such as
going bankrupt if we dont plan events and if we continue to concentrate on something small like
the audience we attract, thats when we are more vulnerable to the real threats that are apparent
in society and that could hurt the organization. I also couldnt help but think back to those in
Iraq. Ive mentioned that people back home cant do the same things they used to always do, its
not the same, the environment insist the same. I dont blame them for fearing death, fearing
terrorism, crime, or disease in Iraq. This is the environment they are exposed to. This is the only
thing they know because of their social locations. These are the heightened fears that we dont
have to think about on a day-to-day basis, but this is their reality and they have to make a life out
of this reality.

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Learning Journal #13:

Recently, the board has been thinking about expanding. Today we talked about whether or not we
would like to add two more members to serve on the organization or not. Right now, we are a
board of seven members. If we were to add two more members, we would become a board of
nine. The advantages with doing this is we would have more voices to hear from and to get
opinions from when we need to reach a group consensus. Another advantage would be the fact
that we are expanding as an organization and this will help us distribute more jobs to other
members than a few people have multiple jobs that are a lot of work. Nonetheless, a
disadvantage with this is the face that we would need to communicate with more people to reach
conclusions. Sometimes when I ask for a response on an issue or I need another members
opinion on a topic, it takes a while all of us to gather and to formulate a conclusion. However, I
do think that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and having a board of nine members
would be much better than just seven. I cant help but think about how much this relates to the
concept form follows structure and structure satisfies needs. There is always a need to be
fulfilled by a structure to fulfill stability in society. When we have board meetings and there is
the same couple of people who are always there on time and having the 100% commitment
needed of a board member meanwhile there are other members who slack on attending the board
meetings, we are in need of new members to replace those that are slacking or more board
members to pick up the slack. As a nonprofit organization, we have a strict structure to follow as
we do have a 501c3. A proper election of the board is required to ensure fairness, bylaws must be
created and followed to ensure that there is a structure within the organization, and
communication needs to be at its prime to ensure that the organization is also running as
smoothly as possible.

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Learning Journal #14:

Today I spent a good majority of my day preparing for the 1st Annual St. Jude Iraq Charity Gala
that is tomorrow. I cant believe that in one day I will be done with this event and I will not feel
as much role conflict as a student and a board member of St. Jude Iraq. As I spent most of my
day preparing for the gala, I couldnt help by feel the agents of socialization. I am the secretary
of this organization and I did plan this event. The status I hold as the secretary of the
organization is the social status I have achieved. I am expected to carry the roles of the
secretary, but I am also expected to carry out of the roles of coordinating an event. During this
time, I cant help but think about how much the charity gala has actually occupied my life. I
unconsciously conformed to the expectations that are required of me as an event coordinator. I
sold tickets and I made myself available whenever I could. I honestly even made myself
available when I cant to get the job done. I placed this Gala as a top priority and thankfully for
me, it didnt affect my schooling. I dealt with all of the manifest functions there is with
coordinating an event from the seating to the venue. Nonetheless, it is important to note that this
wasnt anticipatory socialization, but it was more developmental. I mentioned in the beginning
that I am the youngest board member. Since August of 2015, I have taken on the roles of a
secretary. As a board member, I knew I would have to contribute something big to the
organization whether that is coordinating an event or reaching out to corporate level
sponsorships. Little did I know St. Jude Iraq provided me with an opportunity to be a leader and
take action in the organization. Throughout time, I got better at managing tasks for the
organization, reading important documents that came in, organizing materials, and keeping track
of all our records because I was constantly putting those skills into practice. I just took the same
skills I have learned from being the secretary and applied them into running this event. If I were

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to ever stop being the secretary of St. Jude Iraq, I would go through a huge resocialization, in a
way. If I went from being just a student and not student and secretary, I dont even know what I
would do with my time. Luckily for me, this only occurs in institutions and I wouldnt be cut off
from society or rigidly controlled by people with more authority than me.

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Learning Journal #15: November 30th, 2016 1:00 pm- 1:30 am

Today was a day I will never forget; today was St. Jude Iraqs 1st Annual Charity Gala. This was
an event that was planned and functioned by me, an 18-year-old college student. I truly dont
know how I managed everything from being a college student to coordinating a 500-person
event, but I can definitely say that it burned me out. I didnt expect to feel like this, but I still feel
the effects of sleep deprivation days after the event! The crazy thing was, it literally took the
efforts of one person to make this whole event come to life. I did have a co-coordinator for this
event, but in terms of everything I did and what she contributed, this event was largely put on my
shoulders. Because of my personality, it is fairly arguable that I put that on myself as I am very
bossy, demanding, and pushy when the job needs to get done. Nonetheless, from booking the
venue, Pennas of Sterling Heights, to creating the programs, I was constantly putting in 100%
into this event. I do feel bad for saying that though, as when we went to local businesses to ask
for raffle donations, she did come with me and did most of the face-to-face confrontations.
However, I was the one who provided a letterhead document and created one to establish
legitimacy for the mission and the event as we went around. I could go on and on about how
much I did for this event, but that is not the point of this learning journal. Throughout this entire
process, I couldnt help but think about how my role as a student, my position as the secretary of
the organization, and my role as the coordinator of this event was strained. I think that I
experienced both role strain and role conflict. The conflict between being a student and
coordinating an event was always present. There were times that I needed to get things done for
the charity gala that had to be put aside due to homework and sometimes there were even things

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that needed to be done for school that were put aside to get work done for the event. In both
ways, I was not comfortable with the situation I was put in, but more than most of the times, I
always picked school over the event. Somehow, I managed to maintain my grades and keep the
event afloat despite the situation I was in. I also experienced role strain. I am the secretary of the
organization and the coordinator of this event. There were times that I had to send emails to the
members about meeting reminders or send out meeting minutes after our meetings that I failed to
do because I had to dedicate so much time to this event. Although in the end everything worked
out, the conflict and strain I experienced as a student, even coordinator, and a board member
helped me learn to prioritize what I needed to get done and helped me stay on top of everything.
I truly learned the effects of how bad procrastination would affect me if I never dug myself out
of it before I got too deep in.

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