St. Thomas’ Volunteers in Service Internationally or Nationally recently created “Humans of VISION” to highlight the stories of past participants and welcome others into the VISION community.
“Humans of VISION” has accounts on both Facebook and Instagram that feature pictures of past participants with quotes about their experiences with VISION.
Senior Stephanie Koehne, a VISION student director, said that this new social media tactic is just one way that VISION hopes to spread its community.
“We’re just trying to use every way possible to reach the audience of the world,” Koehne said. “(VISION is) not so much about money or filling spots or having a certain amount of people go on trips. Really it’s just telling stories and connecting one another and creating a community.”
Koehne hopes students will relate to “Humans of VISION,” and that it will inspire them to go on a service trip – an experience that affected her tremendously.
“I got involved with VISION just because I was super confused about my life. The night before I left on my first trip, I submitted all of my stuff to go transfer to the U of M,” Koehne said. “Then I went on my first VISION trip to the Virgin Islands for spring break, and it changed my entire life.”
Senior Jenna Knutson, a VISION leader, came up with the idea for “Humans of VISION.” She said it was inspired by “Humans of New York,” a blog that features pictures of unique New Yorkers along with a quote from the subject.
“I’m really big into vulnerability; I think the strongest people are the people that can be vulnerable after they’ve been trying to be strong for so long,” Knutson said. “I think that’s why I thought of VISION, is because that’s exactly what happens when we’re there – we tell our story.”
Knutson is responsible for reaching out to past participants to get pictures and statements. She currently tries to feature two subjects each week.
“I think the quota will be raised after the trips because people are still on campus. A lot of people have already graduated, so it will be a lot harder to get ahold of them,” she said.
Knuston’s main goal for the project is to give people a better understanding of what VISION is, and she hopes that more students will take the opportunity to participate in a service trip.
“VISION isn’t just a service trip … it’s a deeper understanding of yourself. I’ve always said once you allow other people to love you and fill those gaps and those cracks in your heart, that’s when you can fully give your heart to people,” Knutson said. “And I think that’s what’s so powerful, and I want people to see that.”
Margaret Galush can be reached at galu4637@stthomas.edu.