Yannah Ziegler ’18
What involvement did/do you have with MOVE? What program did/do you volunteer with and/or lead? What years?
Workstudy Student (2014-2018),
Service trips as a student to the Dominican Republic (2015), Florida (2016)
Service trip coordinator (2016-2018)
Volunteer in the MOVE Office (2018-2019)
Staff Service Trip Leader to Texas (2019)
What’s your MOVE story?
At the end of a Core Team training day, we were driving back from an activity in the vans. We were stopped at the red light before going into the Winooski Circle and a man was standing there holding a sign that said “anything helps.” Lara told the student in the passenger seat to hand him the extra lunches that had not been eaten from our training. When the light turned green the car kept going. There was no lecture or point made about what just happened but only the simple act. Lara showed us how to be kind and caring in every moment. Lara embodied the mission to serve. This was not a rare moment in the MOVE office. To me MOVE was teaching me how to apply myself in the world just as much as my academics.
In what ways did/does MOVE impact you?
MOVE has placed students on paths to cause important change. Not only through its many programs did MOVE achieve its motto to “Think globally and act locally.” MOVE has locally influenced SMC students for decades, which in turn created a network that acts globally. MOVE has impacted me by providing me with a lifelong community. The friends and people I met because of MOVE are still with me today. I am thankful for MOVE giving me the skills, support, and desire to do and be my best.
If you are an alumni, what influence does MOVE continue to have on your life today?
MOVE and all of its great leaders pointed you in the direction but never told you what to see. MOVE gave me the capacity to see the world through many viewpoints. MOVE gave me the chance to listen to understand and not just respond. That skill is invaluable and necessary in our world. I am so appreciative that I have learned this teaching and get to hone it for the rest of my life.