BYU students from across majors attended a science fair at a Spanish Fork elementary school, where exercise science professor Matt Seeley brought BYU students to serve as judges and consultants to kids’ projects.
Students went booth by booth discussing projects and inspiring their younger companions toward a life in science. “Giving back to the community goes both ways,” Seeley says. “The kids get a role model—especially girls. And the university students get to talk science and share knowledge.”
Seeley believes in the moral to get out and serve—that as valuable and imperative as it is to spend time in classrooms, the University campus is not the entire world. What we do here is not everything. “It’s important to get out and rub shoulders with people off campus,” he says. “If you’re ever having a hard time identifying your blessings—go spend time with some kids. A lot of this stuff we take so seriously—it’s not the most important parts of life.”
Leaving campus and serving the community encourages students in their own lives. Seeley and students are learning from kids by remembering how to think and be like one. And they’re learning that the most important parts of life are not always in the classroom or textbooks—but in the people we can be around and serve.