Marie Shepherd ’19
What involvement did/do you have with MOVE? What program did/do you volunteer with and/or lead? What years?
Texas 2016, Dominican Republic 2017, South Dakota 2018
What’s your MOVE story?
In Texas, the fire alarm went off in the building we were staying in and the fire department showed up. Being the SMFR member that I am (was!), I naturally struck up a conversation with the local volunteer fire agency that responded. We planted thousands of trees that week and had a TON of fun doing it! We went canoeing one day, and it was after a significant rain storm—so, some areas of the river were a bit stronger than others. Some members got more wet than others! I believe two canoes tipped over during that adventure. We ate crawfish and visited Sonic for milkshakes, too. This trip was more for bonding with other MOVE members and being engaged with the environment around us.
In the Dominican, I had the support of the group and the locals to learn Spanish to communicate with the kids! We mixed, carried, stirred and poured hundreds of pounds of concrete that week—sweating like crazy and loving it! We hiked up the local mountain, made friends and connections and drank coconut water on our way back to the airport after our week of pouring the foundation. This trip was about engaging with locals and building the foundation of a house for a well deserving community member.
In South Dakota, we visited Wall Drug on our way to Simply Smiles, we painted the red bus and put our handprints all over it! We went on adventures to pick up the kids who were coming to camp for the day, we played baseball, basketball and kickball and went on a hike too! We went swimming in the river with Dr. Bronner’s Soap to clean ourselves up! We had a great time with the kids on the Reservation as well as the group from Springfield College who shared our week with us! We had community meals and engaged with the locals of the Sioux Tribe. This trip really focused on creating confidence and leadership experience/roles for the students and young members of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation.
I have many MOVE stories and made many close connections with SMC members of different years/grades and very different walks of life.
In what ways did/does MOVE impact you?
I got into MOVE after participating in service with my high school and travelling to NOLA to volunteer with United Saints three times in high school. I was able to gain the perspective of how NOLA and members of the community had to overcome the impacts of hurricane Katrina up to a decade after the storm hit. MOVE impacted me by showing me other areas of our country and world (Beaumont, TX, Santo Domingo, DR, and La Plante, SD). In these areas that are stricken with poverty significantly more than Vermont and Massachusetts (where I grew up), I was able to have a greater perspective of where I come from and the privilege I have. MOVE made me think critically about how I was raised and it made me think critically about the ways action from service trips (like MOVE trips and my high school trips to NOLA) will help a community instead of harming the community. MOVE impacted me by making me really consider if we are a crutch to the community and do we leave it better or worse after we leave? These trips opened my eyes to explore a world where I am mindful of my impact locally and globally. The critical reflection opportunities from these trips really have stayed with me in the years after graduation, after I’ve stopped volunteer trips and have spent more time leisure travelling.
If you are an alumni, what influence does MOVE continue to have on your life today?
MOVE has offered me perspectives I wouldn’t have been able to gain otherwise. I am able to take these experiences with me (every day) to remind myself when I’m having a bad day, that I have a roof over my head, I have food on the table. I was able to get an education from SMC. I work with buyers and sellers in the Vermont Real Estate Market and I often reflect back on the experiences I had with homes in NOLA (High School), Dominican Republic, and South Dakota and see the homes that I sell and show today. We’re very fortunate in the Northeast, in Vermont—though there is still plenty of poverty in our area, too. Much of it stems from the housing crisis in our area—low inventory, minimal affordable housing (now, the Economics major in me is coming out!).