Last spring I was given the chance to go to New Orleans as part of Senator John Edwards' Opportunity Rocks program, I saw Senator Edwards speak in Berkeley a few months before and his passion for fighting poverty in our country inspired me to donate some time and effort to the cause as well. However, in the end, I gained as much from the experience as any person who we went down to New Orleans to help. It turned out to be the most rewarding experience of my college career.
It showed me the value of community service and allowed me to witness firsthand the difference that one individual can make in another's life. It is not often that a college student gets a chance to look beyond the next exam or paper, but this experience showed me the bigger battles in the world, and allowed me to join in this fight. It allowed me to feel for the first time in a long time that I was really making a difference and doing something that truly mattered. It made me proud to be an American, it made me proud to be a student, it made me proud to me.
I had never been in a group of more motivated, positive, caring students -- a group of people that exemplified everything you would hope Americans to be, doing work that exemplified what you would hope to be done in America -- helping those in need and reaching out a hand to your fellow American. And paving the way, John Edwards exemplified everything that you would hope to find in an American leader.
He worked side by side with us in the hot, humid houses, tearing down drywall, helping these people to prepare to rebuild their homes, as well searching through the inches of mud and oil covering the house for valuables that would help these people to rebuild their lives. We could see the passion that he had for the cause, and it only motivated us to work that much harder.
In summing up the whole experience nothing encompasses it all better then INSPIRED. I was inspired by my fellow students, I was inspired by our genuine leader, and I was inspired to see for the first time in my life an America that was everything it is supposed to stand for.