(Gabrielle Dandridge, C/O '27) Volunteer Work related to Career Goals--- 3PTS

 

Photos: Midnight Riot “Back to School” Community Clean-Up

On September 6th, 2026, alongside Midnight Riot, I helped facilitate their annual “Back to School” Community Clean-Up for my third year in a row. I have been serving with Midnight Riot since my senior year, and it’s very full circle to be able to welcome younger students to our West End community and encourage them to continue to stay engaged with an activity that has real impact. The main topic that I continued to express to my fellow AUC students is the importance of showing up for the surrounding communities outside of the AUC. While it’s important to be of service to others, the root of public service is not saviordom but rather advocacy alongside others. Physically rolling up my sleeves and cleaning my local community is something that fills my cup; I enjoy seeing how we’re able to impact our community positively, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to work alongside everyone in Midnight Riot for so long. 

I find it challenging that many people find working in our local community to be ‘scary’ or that the empowerment from service comes from an inflated sense of ego. My experience of working with Midnight Riot outside of the AUC has truly shaped how I view the difference between public service and singular community service. I hope that, from our “Back to School” Clean-Up, I was able to express that difference to the students around me. 

I can connect some of the ideas from the clean-up to an Environmental politics course that I took with Dr. Whitehead. After learning about the differences between standard federal, state, and local policy, the significance of Midnight Riot is clear in meeting the in-betweens where policy does not extend.