GW Alumnus Andy Eblin Helps Create a Big Event

For GW Community School alumnus Andy Eblin public service has become a way of life. At GWCS, Andy was on the student government three years in a row, including being SGA president in his Junior year.  Now a senior at James Madison University, Andy has continued to look for ways to create community. After a spring party at JMU got out of control and resulted in damage to the Harrisonburg community, Andy founded a club called Madison Involved.  He partnered with the SGA's community affairs director, Cori Kendrick, and set a goal of signing up 500 students for the Big Event, a day of service in the Harrisonburg community, that took place April 9, 2011.

"We want to show that we were thankful to the Harrisonburg community for hosting us all year round," said Kendrick. "We want to show there's another side to JMU and to show our JMU spirit."

At final tally, The Big Event committee almost doubled its goal, with 926 students taking part in community service events organized by the committee. As Andy puts it, “The leadership and community service experience I was afforded in my four years at GW definitely served as the basis for a lot of the way I tackled directing The Big Event. GWCS helped to both form my dedication to community service for the sake of serving, and offered me chances at leadership experience that I likely wouldn't have pursued in a larger environment. “

Andy will graduate in a couple of weeks with a double major in History and Media Arts.

More reporting about The Big Event and Madison Involved can be found here. http://www.jmu.edu/jmuweb/general/news/general11598.shtml

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Andy Eblin introduces James Madison at JMU’s Big Event.