From the president
Alex LaBrake, a second year student at the University of New Hampshire, has made service central to her college experience. In 2021, she chose to cut her summer break short and move in a week prior to her first year to participate in an early arrival program focused on community service. She has since been hired to facilitate the program for incoming students. She mentors first-year students and helps engage the next generation of Wildcats in our culture of service. She is also a member of a co-ed community service fraternity, through which she has completed over 100 hours of service to the greater community. She was elected to serve as Corresponding Secretary for two consecutive terms, for which she connects with other chapters around the country to help their members connect and to compare program best practices. At UNH, we use the UN Sustainable Development Goals to categorize social justice work, and Alex is an excellent example of #17 – Partnerships for the Goals. Alex is committed to grassroots, community-based solutions to social issues, and works to engage her peers in that work.
Personal Statement
I was first exposed to the idea of social justice in my freshman year of college when I joined PrOVES. I quickly became immersed in the problems that were facing our world and what I could do to help. The following year, I attended Lead UNH, where I became even more aware of the problems that affected not only the people I knew in my communities, but people all over the world. As I've gotten older and thought about what I want to do with my future, I’ve become aware of the disparities in the health care system. As a hopeful future physician, I realize that there are many people who need health care who are unable to receive it. On campus, I am involved in the community service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega which focuses on service to the fraternity, community, and nation. I am also in the process of joining the World Health Partners organization which focuses on getting healthcare supplies to countries that are unable to afford these supplies. I also work at Wentworth Douglass Hospital where I have been learning all about healthcare and what more I can do to make change directly.