Volunteer experiences can give participants a glimpse into another person’s life and, consequently, forever change their own. These encounters can be even more compelling for younger volunteers just learning what the outside world is really like, which can be hard to express effectively only with words.

Liana Robertshaw of Morgantown was able to do just that and more. She recently won the”Best Student Service Learning Essay”contest award sponsored by the West Virginia University Office of Service Learning Programs. A $200 cash award accompanies the honor.

Robertshaw, a psychology major, described her experiences while serving an internship and volunteering at the Rape and DomesticViolenceInformationCenter in Morgantown. She assisted with training sessions that provided counseling to victims and families of domestic violence and sexual assault, and volunteered for the center’s 24-hour crisis hotline. She also worked with children of abusive relationships and helped them sort out their feelings through activities geared toward their age groups.

Through this internship and volunteer experience, Robertshaw witnessed the”dark side of human life”in the abuse clients suffered and the courage shown in eventually overcoming their problems. She had the opportunity to be an important part of the clients’healing process.

“The greatest part about the job is that you are able to help people help themselves,”Robertshaw wrote.”I am thankful that I have gotten to see the other side of relationships because it has made me more aware of what is actually going on in the world today.”

Although she was already confident in her career field choice, the experience of working at the center only solidified her decision and has prompted her to further her education. She now wants to become a full-time counselor at the center and continue the work she started as an intern.

“I will continue working here to help people after graduation, and eventually go to graduate school to pursue a doctorate degree so that one day I can open my own shelter and counseling center for battered and abused women and children,”Robertshaw wrote.”I feel as though the psychology program is the most rewarding profession that one can go into �€not only for themselves, but for the people who come in contact with their open hearts.”