This is the next profile Q and A in a series entitled "
Communicators Outside the Lines: Better Yourself, Better Your Community" that the CoSIDA Goodwill & Wellness Committee is producing.
Profile: Bryan Marshall, Millikin
Profile: Kim Ling, Ole Miss
Profile: Rick Baker, Mars Hill University
Profile: Sam Atkinson, Gallaudet University
Profile: Judy Willson, Mountain West Conference
HAVE IDEAS OR MEMBERS TO NOMINATE FOR THIS SERIES?
If you have any ideas for this series, which will revolve around CoSIDA member volunteerism and health and wellness, please contact Goodwill and Wellness Committee chair
Chris Mitchell, Washington University in St. Louis Assistant AD for Communications, via cell (618-560-9280) or email (
mitchell@wustl.edu).
Q&A with Chris Wenzler
Assistant Athletic Director for Communications/Sports Information Director, John Carroll University
by Dain McKee, Middlebury College Assistant Director of Athletic Communications
CoSIDA Goodwill and Wellness Committee member
Wenzler, a CoSIDA 25-Year Award recipient, is extremely active in his community and in international service. An advocate of the CoSIDA #Volunteer 15 program, he performed 224 hours of volunteer service during the 2014-15 year. His service includes numerous international trips as a member of John Carroll's campus ministry international immersion trips and managing a municipal swimming program.
Q: Why is community service so important to you?
WENZLER: I think it goes back to the biblical passage "to whom much is given, much will be required." We are responsible for what we have been given, and if we are blessed with things such as good health, a sound mind, specific talents, a lifetime of acquired knowledge and the precious gift of time, it is expected that we use these for the greater good. I was raised by parents and have lived in communities where service was encouraged, and it is something that has always stuck with me.
Q: Where did you spend most of your time when you were volunteering?
WENZLER: My most concentrated area of service every year is a campus ministry international immersion trip where I serve as an advisor to a group of anywhere between 12-18 students. I spend between nine and 10 days in a developing country. Since 2007, I have been to Jamaica five times, Ecuador once, and a few weeks ago, I went to Guatemala. While there, the group I will be traveling with will be living among families who live in and around the Guatemala City Dump. This past April, dozens of people died or were injured when rains caused a section of the dump to give way.
Q: Discuss a community service project that you were involved in and how it had an impact on your life.
WENZLER: I always harken back to my first trip to Kingston, Jamaica in 2007. You can read all you want to about a place. But until you've smelled the air, walked the streets, spoken to the people, you simply have no idea what it is like to live within these communities. I found that the deepest places within me that were touched were compassion and empathy. I do not pity. In fact, what I strive for is solidarity. I seek commonalities. The people I meet want what I want in life. They all want to love their families, respect their neighbors, find passion in their everyday pursuits and create a better life for their children. All the while, they are searching for hope and asking for justice.
Q: How does someone in our profession find the time to volunteer for 224 hours during a school year?
WENZLER: Leave the country for ten days!!! Within my community, I will volunteer my time wherever I can. I have been running the municipal swim team for the past decade, and I also lend my time and talents to any service project John Carroll is involved with taking part in no matter how big or small it might be. A majority of my community service happens during the summer months but if time permits, I am ready and willing at any time.
Q: What motivates you to participate in community service?
WENZLER: Motivation for me comes from the ability and gift to have human connection as much as possible. As I said before, I have been blessed, and I identify certain blessings as things I had nothing to do with. For example, where I was born, who my parents where, the color of my skin and the country I live in. All of those things were predetermined. But I share my street, my city, my county, my state, my country and this planet with many people, coming from all sorts of backgrounds. Some were blessed with many things, some with very few. I appreciate finding solidarity with all the people I come across on a regular basis. I feel the more common ground we can find, the less likely we are to be violent, be greedy, be indifferent and be intolerant. One life at a time, one day at a time.
Q: Why would you recommend other CoSIDA members to participate in the #Volunteer15 program?
WENZLER: It is very easy in this life to turn inward. We have our lives, our families, our problems and our issues. But we have responsibilities to turn outward and be aware of the world around us. We can’t live in a shell, so we should always motivate ourselves and encourage others to make that world a better place. At times, it feels like the world is burning, and sports can be a nice respite. But so can getting out into our communities and being a part of an inspired movement. It could be simple things like cleaning up the local park or working at a local food bank. Even the smallest gestures can and will make a difference.