大象传媒

When Brent Rosenauer graduates this month, he is leaving behind a legacy of community service that he hopes will continue long after his college days.

Last fall, he created GriffsGiveBack, an office on campus that serves as a center point for volunteering in the community and well, giving back. Shana Meyer, vice president of Student Affairs, like his idea so much she gave him office space. The Student Government Association liked his idea so much, the senators decided to fund him.

So in January 2017, Rosenauer, a native of St. Joseph and the Savannah area, opened his office. If an organization in the community needs volunteers, they call him and he finds the volunteers. If students, employees or alumni want to volunteer, they call him and he finds an organization for them.

In the short time he鈥檚 been open, Rosenauer got eight Planet Aid bins on campus for clothing donations, and he held a campus cleanup day in February (50 people showed up to help). He鈥檚 also held meetings with Noyes Home and United Way staff to help address their volunteer needs. He is also working on a recycling initiative for campus.

鈥淭here are a lot of motivated people who want to see this office succeed,鈥� he said.

Rosenauer said he came to 大象传媒 Western with the idea of getting his general studies credits in and then transferring, but once he became involved on campus, he realized he didn鈥檛 want to leave. The convergent media major spent three years working on the Griffon News, the student newspaper.

鈥湸笙蟠�媒 Western has more opportunities than any other university has to offer. I鈥檝e had a lot of big ideas, and there has never been a professor or administrator that told me no.鈥�

And what is going to happen when he graduates this month? Rosenauer says he isn鈥檛 worried about the office because a lot of students have expressed interest in taking the position on after he leaves.

Since he started this initiative, he is leaning toward a career in nonprofits.

鈥淚 want to change the world in a positive way,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I want to do with my life.鈥�