>>My name is Dave Kelbe. I’m a doctoral
candidate in imaging science at Rochester
Institute of Technology, and I am proud to
be the 2012 recipient of the Bruce R. James
Distinguished Service Award.
In my third year here at RIT, I went over
to southeast Asia to an orphanage and just
sent a month there, and it totally changed
my outlook on life and my perception of the
people around me. That’s how public service
really began for me.
The kids and the staff at this place just
welcomed me so much. And really I went there
to teach but I really learned so much more.
The things that these kids taught me was just
love and selflessness and generosity, and
they had no material possessions and they
had no family and no money or even hope of
a future. But they were so loving and generous
and hopefully too.
That perspective allows me to reevaluate the
selfishness in my own heart and try to look
at things from a different point of view.
When I came back to Rochester, my eyes were
opened to the people around me that I had
so long ignored. And now I actually live in
the neighborhoods that need the most love.
I think what’s missing in a lot of these
communities is just hope.
Some of the activities that I’m involved
in are volunteering overnight at a homeless
shelter. There’s also a place I go and just
play with kids for an evening, and I’m also
involved with the local refugees, and on campus,
something that I really love to do is just
make the international students feel welcome
and at home here at RIT.
Community service isn’t just about serving
others. It also serves you and makes you filled
with joy and happiness, and to love other
people and to do things for other people.
It’s an incredibly rewarding experience.
