For nearly 20 years, freshmen have begun their careers at Georgia Southern by participating in the BUILD program.
According to the Office of Leadership and Community Engagement (OLCE) website, BUILD is “Students attending BUILD will participate in a 5-day leadership development and service program that connects students with our campus and the local Statesboro community. Students will volunteer daily at various community agencies and participate in a leadership training program in the evenings…”
This year’s work locations ranged from the Boys and Girls Club to the University Botanical Garden, Willow Hill School, Transitions Learning Center and more.
The participation fee for BUILD is $175 per student.
I was a member of BUILD this year and spoke to fellow students who participated in the program. Their reviews were mixed.
Dee Balaji said she enjoyed the experience: “I think (BUILD) made me a lot more sociable because I’m very introverted and very quiet, but participating in this five-day program really changed me for the better.”
On the contrary, Balaji also spoke about the negative sides of BUILD.
“There is some lack of communication because I had to go to the same service sites about twice, even though I spoke to one of the BUILD peer leaders and they said they would look into it again, but the next day I was still there. So I think the communication (would have been better),” Balaji said.
Another freshman student who participated in BUILD, Kina Simon, also had a positive experience. “I think my experience with BUILD was really good. I liked the people I met. And I guess I liked getting to know people who go to my school. I think I liked the people in the company more than the program itself.”
Simon further explained the problems she had identified with the BUILD program.
“The program felt rushed considering the amount of money we paid. I wish they had been better prepared for certain things. But other than that, I had a good time.”
Another freshman, who wished to remain anonymous, detailed his negative experience: “I think it would be better if we talked to our BUILD peers. I feel like our opinion matters. We’re in college now and I understand that we may be younger, but many of the BUILD peer leaders are only a year older than us and the way they talk to certain people is just not okay.”
Lexi Booth, Leadership Educator for OLCE, spoke with me about factors in the BUILD program that can be improved next year.
“…We always get feedback from the students when you all leave at the end of the week…So we always take that into account when we plan the (next) BUILD program. We usually start planning for the following year in October,” Lexi said. “We take that feedback into account as well as feedback from our staff, our campus partners and community partners to make sure we’re constantly improving the experience to make it the best it can be for both the students who come and the students who run it and the staff.”
I also spoke with Emily Tanner, OLCE’s Community Engagement Coordinator, and asked her if she thought there was anything that could be improved.
“Yeah, I mean, with any program there are always things that could be changed. But I think overall the structure of BUILD has been in place for 18 years and it has worked, and as long as it continues to exist and is a positive experience for the students, it will continue to work.”
If you are interested in helping Bulloch County and gaining leadership experience, BUILD 2025 is looking for volunteers for leadership positions.
BUILD leaders are selected around November and then complete a weekend training at the beginning of the spring semester where they participate in leadership development training, according to Lexi Booth.
“We just talk about, ‘Who are you as a leader?’ ‘How do you lead a team?’ ‘How do you lead as part of a team?’ Those are really important, critical things for anyone in a leadership role, but also really useful during BUILD because they’re not only leading small groups, but also as part of the BUILD leadership team,” Lexi said.
Former BUILD leader Kyle Ruth, a senior at GSU, describes his experience as a BUILD leader as absolutely amazing: “I have always loved BUILD because it combines some of my favorite aspects of life. First, I get to help others through the service we provide at BUILD, and second, I get to meet new people.”
When I asked him how he feels about the workload as a peer leader, Kyle said, “We obviously have some late nights of setup work, but the week really does fly by. I feel like before you know it, the week is over and you’re almost done.”
“But it’s worth it because we’re doing what we signed up for – potentially a couple of long days – and planning the night before, but it’s definitely worth it because BUILD is a great experience,” Kyle said.
For more information about BUILD and future opportunities, visit Here!
