Many high schools require 100 hours of community service in order to graduate. Some students find this seemingly simple task difficult, as the number becomes ever more daunting as the date of graduation looms.
For Mr. Jeff Kessels ’10, that number is miniscule.
“In senior year of high school I racked up 867 hours of community service and that still wasn’t enough,” the Union, Missouri native said,” I don’t think you can never get enough of volunteering. I can never get enough – I love it.”
As a Wabash student Mr. Kessels is very active on campus. As a brother of Lamda Chi Alpha he serves as the External Vice President and Philanthropy chair. He is the Senator from the Lambda Chi Fraternity as well as a member of the Audit and Finance Committee. As a Catholic, Mr. Kessels is treasurer of the Newman Club. These activities do not dissuade him from but rather reinforce his passion for community service.
“I think that’s where it all stems from,” Mr. Kessels said, “I like being involved, I like helping the community I lived in, and I guess that’s what sparked my interest in being involved in clubs on campus.”
Mr. Kessels’ story of coming to Wabash echoes many stories of current Wallys and alumni.
“I knew I wanted to go to a small school because my mom works at Washington University in St. Louis and I wasn’t too keen on being in a big school and getting lost,” he said. “I knew I wanted to go into the liberal arts because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. My high school guidance counselor gave me a list of the top 50 liberal arts schools in the Midwest. Wabash was one of those and I started checking it out online and signed up for mailings.”
Those mailings initially dissuaded Mr. Kessels from considering Wabash closely at first.
“When I got that first mailing that says ‘boys will be boys; men go to Wabash’ I thought there was no way I’d end up at Wabash with all dudes,” he said. “That’s just weird. But I started visiting here at top ten Scholar day and fell in love with the place.”
When the Psychology and Religon double major is not studying or involving himself in student government and clubs, Mr. Kessels can be found at the Crawfordsville Boys and Girls Club. Every week he takes a group of brothers down to volunteer. Mr. Kessels believes this type of community involvement is an essential part of fraternity life, regardless of what fraternity the student is a brother in.
“I think the fraternities on campus have a responsibility in taking on a role that gives back to the Crawfordsville community,” Mr. Kessels said. “As philanthropy chair I try to emphasize that. We are fortunate people to be able to attend Wabash.”
“For Lamda Chi,” he added, “part of our mission statement is to give back to the community we live in, as I am sure is true in other fraternities as well. As a fraternity that promotes service and stewardship to other people it is essential for us. We have a responsibly to take on a role that give back to the community.”
As many sophomores are currently in the process of doing, Mr. Kessels is applying for a study abroad opportunity. His choice of program, much like his choice of school may seem unconventional.
“I am applying to the Semester at Sea program,” he said, “the reason being that it is a program that epitomizes the liberal arts. You get a very broad experience from many different cultures; you get to visit over 20 different places around the world. That’s the kind of program I am looking for. There isn’t a place where I want to spend an entire semester of my life. I don’t want to just go visit Europe, I don’t want to just go visit South America.”
Mr. Kessels’ zeal for volunteering translated into the study abroad opportunity he is currently applying for.
“The semester at sea program does a lot of community service from what I understand,” he said. “They actually do a lot of humanitarian programs in port, so I’m kind of looking forward to that aspect also.”
Mr. Kessels zeal for community service has not dissipated since high school. Already this year he has over 750 hours. As he gives so much time, it would be logical for one to demand something in return. Mr. Kessels, however, finds his reward in the actual process of giving back.
“I find it very rewarding,” he said. “I guess it’s my way of giving back to society and humanity. I have been blessed with a lot of things in my life and I see it as my duty to help people who are less fortunate than me.”