The Social Action Leaders are a huge part of the Social Action Program. Every year, a group of Seniors are selected to be Social Action leaders for the incoming Freshman class. They dedicate time during the summer to do research, prepare for class discussions, organize informational trips, and focus on being leaders within the Stone Ridge community. Impelled to Act took a closer look at the impressive group of Seniors and asked them various questions about their experiences as SALs and some personal questions as well. Our fourth interviewee is Caroline Musslewhite, leader of the Poverty and Homelessness rotation. 
When did you first decide you wanted to be a SAL?
Well my sister was a SAL and she was a senior in 2006. So I had been thinking about it when I was going into High School, but I hadn’t seriously thought about it until my mom actually suggested that I look into it. I remember my SALs from when I was a freshman and I loved them, they were great. And they were really good role models for me. It was nice coming in freshman year and feeling like I had a connection with seniors, who just seemed so much cooler, so much bigger, and so much more knowledgeable about life. Even though there just four years older they just seemed like adults and I really value that. I just really liked the whole experience of Social Action.
Why did you choose poverty and homelessness?
I was really open to doing any of the rotations, and honestly it just happened that Ms. Key said that I’d be doing poverty and homelessness. I was like “Well I’ll jump into it and figure it out and plan it the best I can,” I wanted to learn, and I knew going into it that whatever rotation I was doing that I would be learning a lot. I thought it was a topic that would be important to learn about.
What is your site that you take the freshman too and how did you find it?
I go to Community Vision and it’s a partner with Shepherd’s Table. It was an interesting process of finding a site because there were places I was looking into with kids or something like that; but they didn’t always want high school students particularly freshman, because there so young and they didn’t have a lot of experience I guess. So I was desperately thinking of site to go and I remembered Shepherd’s Table and the girl who was the SAL last year for poverty and homelessness, I think she did the clothing closet at Shepherd’s Table, so I had the contact number and I called them. I thought I was actually calling Shepherd’s Table, but in fact I was calling Community Vision, by accident. But it worked out great. I met with the volunteer coordinator whose name is Sandra Miller and she has been so helpful and so great at accommodating. And after meeting with her it clicked and I just knew that I wanted to go there with my group.
If there were something you could change about the Social Action Program what would it be?
I don’t know how exactly this would be possible. O.K. 2 things: I would love to see us doing it every week. I remember as a junior I was going to my site and I was working with little kids, and you still build that connection going every other week, but it’s not the same as going every week. They kind of forget you a little bit. I think it would be great if we could go every week, I’m not exactly sure how we would do that. Also I would love if we could do something over the summer, like if we could keep the experience going. It is really valuable to be able to do service in your community. I think it makes you see a part of your community that you’re not aware about. At least for me, I wasn’t aware about the extent to which poverty and homelessness existed in Montgomery County, in Maryland, in the U.S. I think it’d be great to do it over the summer. So it’s not just like “OK, I’m going to the beach and having fun!” Which is great, but you keep more awareness of things that are more important in life, like helping others and trying to make a difference in the world. I think that’s really important.
What is the most important world issue that we need to face?
I think maybe the most important issue is just a lack of concern, just in general. It’s really easy to just be aware of your tight community, what’s going on with your friend, what’s going on with your family. And not be aware of what could be happening to your neighbor, that’s just someone that you don’t talk to or that you don’t see. I think people want to help ultimately, but it can be hard to figure out a way to help. So maybe it’s actually more of a problem of maintaining balance in your life. Realizing that it is important to be aware of what is going on in your world and not just the world as in what going on in another continent, but what’s going on in your neighborhood. There’s a lot, in Montgomery County, for example, a lot of poverty and homelessness in this area, there are a lot of problems that we should be aware about, but we’re thinking about all the other things that we’re thinking of doing and it makes sense that were worried about now with us.
If you were an animal what would you be?
I think I would be a bird, cause birds can fly and I would love to fly. Maybe like nice bird, a pretty bird, or a parrot. Because they’re colorful and they talk to you and they’re friendly and I think I’m colorful, but not an obnoxious parrot.
