Pulse

As the fall semester comes to an end, community organizations offer opportunities to serve the community and help build a better society over the holiday season.

One philanthropic outlet is the volunteer organization People Attempting To Help. PATH allows individuals to volunteer to be a receptionist or caseworker, help with the PATH Community Homes program, assist in the food pantry and mentor through the Kid Reach Mentoring Program, Administrative Director Mitzie Avera said.

University student Neal Clarke, 18, started experiencing homosexual tendencies when he was in 6th grade.

“By 7th grade I kind of accepted it in myself and was kind of like, ‘Okay this is who I am and I’ve got to come to terms with this before anybody else,’” he said.

Clarke said he was coming out to his family and friends by 8th grade.

Senior and I Am Second president Kinsey Martin spent the weekend of Nov. 5 locked behind the bars of a Dallas area prison. Martin wasn’t serving time as a criminal, but as a minister to the inmates as part of Bill Glass’ company and I Am Second Locked Up Ministry.

Since this was Martin’s third year to participate in the event, he said he knew to expect nervous feelings and numbing sad stories of the convicted felons.

Vianny Guevara has been passionate about Young Life youth ministries since he became involved as a junior in high school.

Guevara said he instantly fell in love with the organization.

“That month at Young Life camp allowed me to grow spiritually. It also has allowed me to open up to people that keep up with on a regular basis,” Guevara said. “I glad that I can call them best friends.”

The words adorable, unique and eccentric don’t even begin to describe the style of 21-year-old singer and songwriter, Christie DuPree.

When DuPree isn’t getting coffee or reading, she said she is writing music and playing in a two-piece, self-titled band with her 17-year-old brother Collin DuPree.

Christie plays acoustic guitar and Collin plays electric guitar.

When University student Bethany Bradley, sophomore piano performance major, missed a call from her father while attending Sunday school, she knew something was wrong.

“After calling my father back and hearing him break into sobs, and then being told that Ben died, I shut my cell phone and cried my eyes out,” Bradley said. “In a few seconds, life as I knew it was gone.”

It’s not every day that someone starts a conversation with you about what you believe and why you believe it.

That’s exactly what I spent my semester doing.

During the many conversations I had with various students and officials concerning different ways of belief, I gained some valuable, irreplaceable knowledge and experience.

Vocal Education major Cassie Keys excitedly explained the elements of her senior recital to take place before the end of the semester.

Keys said students who are required to perform in the recital utilize portfolios, which they have consecutively assembled within their four years of study.

“That is the most optimistic way of doing it,” she said. “We should have been putting together a portfolio of all the things that we’ve sung over the last four years.”