Active citizenship is necessary for the evolution of communities. Our neighborhoods can only be preserved through the awareness and progress of its residence. We must be conscious of how our communities are working. We must in engaged in how they develop. Our communities are defined by our actions. We are the citizens who determine what citizenship is and how we best contribute to the lives of those around us.

            Being an active citizen involves the most commitment to one’s community. The Active Citizen Continuum breaks our society into four levels: member, volunteer, conscientious citizen, and active citizen. With each level comes an added component of commitment. A member of society is someone who is not concerned with the social problems of his time. Becoming a volunteer means you’re trying to solve society’s problems, but you’re lacking the background information, the causes, what the effects of your actions might be, etc. A conscientious citizen is when you’ve begun to ask why: why things are in their current state? Why people act the way they do? Why these problems have been ignored for so long? Why a solution has not been implemented yet? The Continuum defines an active citizen as when, “Community becomes a priority in values and life choices” (The Active Citizen Continuum). An active citizen is a label held in prestige for those who prioritize their life around the betterment of their communities.

            The Social Change Model is also imperative to defining the separation of society. In this model, society is divided into groups of citizens who are more aware of individual and group values. Those focusing on group values can often be identified for their use of collaboration, their focus on a common purpose, and their attention to controversy with civility. Individual values include the consciousness of self, congruence, and commitment. Society does not function without both groups because they are not mutually exclusive. You should express all of these characteristics. You cannot be an active citizen without balancing these principals; you must be conscious of your actions while willing to collaborate with others. Active citizenship is a balance of individual and group mentalities.

            To be an active citizen is to be a dedicated citizen. If you are active in your community, you are involved. You are aware of your surroundings, and the hardships and successes that come with that. However, active also means to continuously practice these ideals. It is to take part in something in repetition. To be a citizen means you belong to a community; you partake in the customs and practices of the place in which you live. You work to contribute to the local society. “Active citizenship means people getting involved in their local communities and democracy at all levels, from towns to cities to nationwide activity,” (Open Society Foundations). This means that the citizen you are, locally or nationally, does not change your ability to be actively involved in the community at large. Whether it be a national, political endeavor or a local one, an active citizen is someone who makes themselves part of the important business of their communities.

            Active citizenship applies to the national level. Such is the case with Mary Pipher. Her quest to help the environment lead her on a nationwide campaign to ban an international pipeline. Her story is a wonderful example of what makes active citizens. As her group of activists grew, she realized that they were no longer farmers, environment activists, and concerned neighbors. Instead this band of misfits became a united, collected group with one sole purpose. The more community members affected by something, in this case a pipeline, often the easier it is to rally support for a cause. One can shift from being a volunteer or conscientious citizen to an active citizen if only given a footing for their arguments. And this group mentality, group superiority is what being an active citizen is about. It is about looking out for what is good for the community rather than just one individual. Ideals become centered around how the group will benefit; it becomes the many versus one. As a result of their focus and determination, Mary and her group were able to have, “the first and only international permit [for the TransCanada pipeline] ever denied by the US government”. Her group went from conscientious, informed citizens to active citizens by banding together and speaking up against the pipeline, speaking against the injustice they believed would be dealt to the environment. Active citizenship requires you to find your voice when rallying for a cause. It means you do not take a back seat but rather fight for the common good for all of your community. Active citizens have a voice that cannot be silenced.

             Additionally, community and therefore citizenship is not only defined by a location. A community can be developed and centered around an ideal or belief. In this sense, being an active citizen takes on a new meaning. In this sense, an active citizen is someone who works towards maintaining and developing the beliefs at the core of their community. They work to better understand their viewpoint and that of other community members as to better unite their group. Peter Block explains this in “From Leadership to Citizenship”. He explains that citizens must be willing to participate in the practices and customs of their current communities to fully understand them. You can only effectively change these practices once you understand them. This relates back to volunteers; they will have a greater impact through service if they fully understand the problems at hand. In conjunction with this, Kouzes explains that leadership is learned. We can choose to be leaders. Or we can choose to use that motivation to inspire others to work with us to better the whole.

             In addition to this, Jonathan Tisch speaks of teaching the application of managerial skills to volunteer opportunities. He speaks of “applying high-level professional expertise…toward problems faced by those who are less fortunate” as a new approach to volunteering. Many of these “high-level [professions]” mandate communication and leadership skills alongside the ability to work with others and analyze the situations at hand (Open Society Foundations). With this approach it is imperative to use skills that are well developed. Pulling from your own predeveloped skills, rather than going out on a limb, will have a greater impact on your efforts (Changes UK). Volunteers need to use their skills to their fullest extents to encompass the practicum of active citizenship.

            Being an active citizen in our modern society can be difficult. However, trying to do so while on a college campus is exponentially easier. On campus, we are surrounded by our culture, physically and socially. As students and particularly as campus residents, it’s difficult to escape from the reality of social issues on campus. Simply by looking a little deeper into the masses of information presented to us each day, we become conscientious citizens of the university. By adding community service; through personal endeavors, VT Engage, etc.; to this conscientious ideology we become active citizens. We are paying attention to the social and environmental challenges going on around us, learning the reasons for and why these things occur, and we then set out to make the world a better place.

            Being an active citizen is very similar to living out Ut Prosim. By encompassing “so that I may serve” into our daily lives we cover the volunteering aspect of being an active citizen. In addition to this we are encouraged to fully understand the situations in which we involve ourselves in hopes of making the largest impact possible. This understanding is also the difference between volunteering and service; it gives the charity a purpose.

             Ut Prosim can be seen throughout our campus. The friendly, open air of students is present in classrooms, during sporting events, and even simply walking across campus all encompass this ideal. We make it a way of life; it is in everything we do. By living as we do on campus, Ut Prosim is no longer a motto. If our community was less accepting and friendly, less dedicated to its calls to action, then I believe it would revert to a motto. I believe that the university is effectively and efficiently exposing students to the social issues being struggled with on campus and that allows us to be aware of where we can help our fellow classmates. Tech’s systems to incorporate students into activities seems to be working.

               I believe that Virginia Tech can better help students to be active citizens by further updating Gobbler Connect. I find that it can be a daunting system for beginners. Without belonging to a group or looking for a specific trip, the system can be a bit user unfriendly. We could also configure the system to no longer display past trips. By organizing the trips so that those about to happen are at the top of the page will prevent halfhearted volunteers from becoming discouraged and giving up on their searches.

                This semester and the volunteering I have done has given me a new perspective on my own volunteering. I used to volunteer at a local food bank at home. Unfortunately I was doing so without knowing exactly who I was helping, where they were, how many of them were in need, or even how the food was getting to them. Now that I’ve volunteered with Feeding America, I’ve begun to learn all of this background knowledge and it’s given me an even larger appreciation for the program in place. I hope to further my involvement with programs like Feeding America. I have a meeting planned with Joanne from Campus Kitchen and hope that will develop into many volunteer opportunities. I truly believe my efforts will be most beneficial to others if I focus on food insecurity in the local region when volunteering.