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My granddaughter  (Melody Kim) goes to school at the University of Southern California (USC) and majors in Journalism and Public Relations. College students in the US are often engaged in volunteer work besides academic studies. Here below is an unedited account of the off-campus activities of Melody written by her.  On this day of Thanksgiving in the US, I am proud of her spirit of giving back to the Society for opportunities she had.

As a senior in college at the University of Southern California, I am struck with an overwhelming sense of urgency. I only have one year left to do as much greatness as I can! Lately, I’ve been thinking about everything I’ve done and I wonder how much impact I’ve left on my school. I wonder how much I have left to give. If you are a college student, you have the incredible opportunity to give back to your community. You in an environment that is designed for you to succeed; it is very easy to take risks and be creative. If you take advantage of the resources and guidance offered by your university, you can achieve wonderful things.

One of my most gratifying experiences in college has been through my work with Troy Camp, the university’s oldest student-run philanthropic organization. We work with underserved youth in the South Los Angeles community by taking them to a free, week-long summer camp followed by a year of fun Kid’s Events such as Disneyland, a USC football game, or local museums and parks. We are mentors to kids because they only get to be a kid once. We help them envision their futures and the specific talents they will offer to society. We ask our Troy Camp kids, "What college do you want to go to?" not "Do you want to go to college?" Everything we do is to add to this notion of childhood, to inspire our kids to stay curious, stay studious and stay young.

I have so many incredible memories from Troy Camp: doing early morning yoga with a bunch of 5th grade boys, carving pumpkins with kids for Halloween, tutoring students after school. Spending time with these kids gives invaluable tangibility to my work. As the Director of Fundraising for Troy Camp, I am in charge of several huge fundraisers throughout the year and being able to interact with these incredible kids is what makes my work meaningful. I live in a house with seven other girls, all of whom hold leadership positions within Troy Camp. Collectively, we probably invest enough time into Troy Camp to consider it a part-time job. But as the saying goes, choose a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life. Every day I am reminded of how rewarding it is to be a part of it all.

Public service work comes with the greatest built-in incentives: you shake hands with the people you are impacting, you speak with the volunteers you recruited, and you live in the community you are in service to. I crave these personal effects because they repurpose my work as not merely action items performed by me or my team, but instead a network of opportunities, a group of doors bursting open to reveal potential new partnerships and human connections.

I encourage all college students to dive headfirst into their school. Get involved! Join a club, a study group or a sports team. Always think about how you can leave your mark on the world, or make it a better place than when you started. It doesn’t have to be monumental. Even making someone’s day a little better can mean the world to them. Smile! Show the world that you are open to accepting good things, and good things will happen to you.