Though Orange Jackets has made its name as a community for female leaders on campus to
connect and empower one another, it is also the oldest honorary service organization at the
University of Texas. Since its beginning in 1923, Orange Jackets seeks to serve members of both
the UT and Austin community. We partake in various events ranging from volunteering with the Settlement Home or beautifying Austin with our fellow students at Project. Service is one of the tenets of our organization, and we try our best to embody this in all that we do. Here are a few
reasons why Orange Jackets live to serve.
It connects us with our peers.
When it comes to service, we’ve found that it feels best when we serve with others. Coming
together as a community to volunteer is an amazing bonding experience. We not only
strengthen ourselves as an organization but learn more about others in the UT community and
what they are passionate about. Whether we are working with Blazers, the Settlement Home,
Best Buddies, Texas Women’s Council, or any other UT organization, we love connecting with
our peers and building friendships through the act of serving others.
It gives us perspective.
Another tenet of Orange Jackets is scholarship; however, we make it our goal not to only learn
within a classroom setting but in all that we do. Volunteering helps us gain perspective and,
most importantly, empathy. When we volunteer, we meet people from all walks of life, and
interacting with them is such a humbling experience. We learn from their experiences, and in
doing so, see through their eyes and gain perspective.
Service helps us learn more about ourselves.
Every member of Orange Jackets has something that she is passionate about, and the way we
found these passions was by volunteering. By giving back to others, we learn more about
ourselves as humanitarians, leaders, and members of a community. We discover what values
are most important to us and what causes we feel most passionate about, and we are
motivated to stay involved in these causes.
It reminds us of why it is important to give back.
Most importantly, every volunteer opportunity that we partake in reminds us of why our job as
volunteers is so important. The impact that we have on our community is seen in more than the
buildings we help beautify, the meals that we serve, or the blankets that we make; it is seen in
the attitudes of those that we bond with. By serving others, we are showing support for
positive change in our communities and building stronger relationships within our society. We
are working together to build a better world, even if it’s just by helping plant trees in our own
town.
