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A return of service

Katie Minetti is one of the 500 club presidents in Circle K International. A senior, she’s one of the nearly 1,900 students enrolled at the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. But this is the story of one Katie Minetti, as told to the Kiwanis Club of Wooster. It is a story of apply lessons of service-leadership to break down life’s barriers.

“Growing up as a child born with physical limitations, I spent countless afternoons in hospital waiting rooms or struggling with bike riding, walking, or running, which came so easily to my peers. With these experiences, I was lucky enough to be the recipient of hours of service from others, and while it might have only meant an hour out of their day, that friend who stayed behind to pick me up off the ground when I fell of my bike or walked more slowly to make sure I didn’t get left behind or the volunteer who read to me while I was in the hospital recovering from surgery, I am not exaggerating when say it meant the world to me.

“I am so thankful I have been able to overcome my disability; therefore, I am driven by a desire to give back to others because I know firsthand what a difference it can make, even if that difference just affects one person. In middle school, I spent my Wednesday afternoons at a nursing home chatting with residents and participating in every imaginable arts and crafts project. In high school, in order to fulfill a 20-hour service requirement for graduation, I spent my afternoons at a Boys and Girls Club as a mentor and tutor, and I got hooked, continuing to volunteer there all four years of high school.

We didn’t have a Key Club in my high school, but the equivalent was a student group called the Community Service Advisory Board, which focused on planning service projects for the school community and publicizing our efforts. It was here that I was first bitten by the service bug. I liked being able to be a part of something and that experience taught me a great deal about the challenges and logistics of planning service projects.

“When I came to the College of Wooster in the fall of 2004, I went looking for a niche and found Circle K. A brief incident with a broken ankle deterred me from joining in the fall, but I was welcomed back in the spring. I quickly found that it an easy group to join and that it had many wonderful and fun people. Planning and attending weekly service projects connects me with the larger Wooster community, where I can see the benefits of our service efforts almost immediately. Visiting the Gault Family Leaning Center tree house library, reading to nursery school classes, and talking to the parents of kids who come in for therapy, all have been rewarding experiences. It my desire to give back in the same way that people gave to me.”