My name is Kevin Surace, and I am a rising senior at Quinnipiac. As I began my journey here nearly three years ago, I told myself to leave a lasting, meaningful impression on this university. As you now embark on your own journey, I challenge you to be ambitious, find confidence within yourself and leave your own mark.

During my time at Quinnipiac, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to make a difference within our Bobcat community and beyond. One of the many ways I’ve been able to accomplish this is as one of the co-directors for Community Action Project, the largest community service organization on campus.

Community Action Project provides students an opportunity to get off-campus and make an impact in the lives of others. Our organization is comprised of five branches: Elderly, Hunger and Homelessness, Youth, Special, and Local Heroes. Throughout each semester, our leadership organizes over 25 on- and off-campus events to provide service for each of these populations, bringing our general membership along with us. These events range from snack bag making for the homeless to dances for the elderly at North Haven Senior Center.

In addition to these events, Community Action Project is also responsible for organizing our on-campus blood drives in collaboration with the American Red Cross. Each semester, we host one to three blood drives for the Quinnipiac community.

Finally, each year Community Action Project hosts Helping Hands Day. This is our biggest event in which each of our branches organizes service projects at one to two locations that have unmet needs. Then, we recruit as many volunteers as possible from the Quinnipiac community and come together for one large day of service. Personally, this has been one of my favorite experiences at Quinnipiac to date.

With just a few months before you join us on campus, I encourage you all to look forward to your time here at Quinnipiac. Aside from a wonderful education, this school has provided me with some of the best memories, opportunities, and relationships that I could have ever asked for.

With an incredible number of philanthropic opportunities to take part in, I hope to see many of you joining our organization in the fall.