How Can I Make A Difference?
Written by Olivia Throssell
“We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill
Anthony Sagapolutele is a junior Marine Science major here at the University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH Hilo). As well as being a full time student, Sagapolutele is also in the National Guard and took a semester off in Fall 2014 in order to complete basic training so he could continue school.
The National Guard allows Sagapolutele to continue school because a degree allows for more promotions once in active service. “I am able to do both school and National Guard because we do various trainings throughout the year but they don’t fall in the way of my schooling. In the summertime we have a lot of time to do our major training exercises, and during school we generally meet up for drills about once a month on a weekend,” stated the junior.
Anthony Sagapolutele after weeding at UH Hilo. Photo courtesy of Anthony Sagapolutele.
Sagapolutele wants to change the world. He wants to do this by volunteering and educating others about the oceans and marine life. Sagapolutele volunteered during the Office of Applied Learning Experience (ALEX)’s spontaneous volunteering week it held in October. “I figured this was perfect as I have always wanted to give back! I don’t have much time to go outside of the school, so being able to give back to the community was a great way I could help! I helped with weeding the gardens around campus. We completed the job quicker than they thought we did so we were able to go above and beyond for the campus,” Sagapolutele exclaimed.
There were four other volunteers helping at the time so the volunteering ended up being a fun bonding experience for all parties included.” Sagapolutele really wants ALEX to continue doing a spontaneous volunteering activities as he wants to continue to stay involved in the community and guide other students to do more volunteering for their community.
Anthony Sagapolutele at the Hilton Waikoloa Resort. Photo courtesy of Anthony Sagapolutele.
Sagapolutele is from Tutuila, American Samoa. After completing active duty in the United States, he plans to take what he has learned at UH Hilo, all his volunteering experience and his training, to go back to his home Island of American Samoa and work to protect the Pacific Ocean and the marine life that surrounds the community. “They contract people off island to head the departments. I want to go back and take those jobs up so they don’t have to hire off islanders, so we can keep the jobs within our community. I am doing the National Guard to help pay for college, and after I want to help education my people about the dangers of pollution and marine wildlife,” he stated.
For more information about volunteer opportunities please contact either the ALEX office by emailing Dr. Tom DeWitt at tsdewitt@hawaii.edu or Campus Center service learning located in Campus Center room 316.
