Tiffani Poole, a Public Service and Outreach Student Scholar majoring in human development and family science from Gainesville, Ga., is involved with service at UGA so she can give back to the community that has shaped her into the person she is today. Ultimately, she serves because she loves to give and make other people happy.
What have you learned about how and why the university engages in service?
As a land-grant university with so many amazing resources at our disposal, UGA has a duty to give back to our local community as well as the state of Georgia. It is also an honor as an institution, to work towards bettering the community that surrounds us.
What made you want to get involved in service at UGA?
I wanted to get involved with service at UGA because I want to give back to the community that has shaped me into the person that I am today. Without the UGA community around me I would not have been blessed with the same opportunities that I have, so I feel it is my duty to give back to the community that supports UGA.
What service and leadership opportunities are you involved with at UGA?
I am a Public Service and Outreach Student Scholar, the president of the Human Development and Family Science Association and a tutor for the UGA Athletic Association where I tutor UGA athletes.
How has service-learning helped you grow as a student or in your personal life?
My involvement with the PSO Student Scholar Program and one of my classes, Discovery Dawgs, are my first service-learning experiences within UGA. Discovery Dawgs allows me to use technology to mentor a 7th grader from Hart County Middle School with a semester project. I expect this to really grow and develop me as a person and I am excited to see how much I have learned and grown by the end of the semester.
Why do you feel it is important for students to participate in public service and outreach? How does it benefit the community?
I think it is important for students to participate in public service and outreach because it gives students a sense of the issues in the community around them, rather than allowing them to just stay inside their bubble of student life. It benefits the community because it aids people in a variety of ways and it helps to create good relations between the community and the university.
What are your plans after graduation?
After graduation, I am getting married and planning to stay in Athens for a few years. I am not sure yet what particular job I want, but I want to do something working with children and/or families. I am particularly interested in education so any career working in an educational setting would make me extremely happy.
What are your interests and hobbies outside school?
Some of my hobbies include reading, spending time at church where I lead a Bible study with middle school girls, spending time with my friends, family, and boyfriend, going to Georgia football games (Go Dawgs) and going to my favorite restaurants.
Please list any outside-UGA community service you are involved in.
I am not currently involved with any outside-UGA community service, but I have recently been involved with Families 4 Change, a nonprofit that works with juvenile delinquents and their families instead of putting them through the legal system. I served as a co-teacher for this program.
What is your favorite spot in Athens, at UGA or in Georgia? Why?
I can’t pick just one, but my favorite spots at UGA are Sanford Stadium because I love to cheer on the Dawgs and UGA’s North Campus because I love the history of this great university.
What motivates or inspires you in life?
My faith and my loved ones because they motivate me to work hard and become the best I can be and they also inspire me to be kind and give back to others because I have been given so much.
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Get to know people, even beyond a first impression, because they may just surprise you in ways you wouldn’t expect.