Building University Partnerships

McCaylee Southall serves as the University Liaison at NSI Food Pantry. In this role, her main goal is to bolster the pantry’s relationships with partner organizations, university faculty members, and resources at The Ohio State University. Ultimately, these efforts aim to increase the student population’s knowledge of NSI Food pantry as a food resource in the community. Meeting with student groups, speaking in club meetings, and connecting with faculty members at the university, McCaylee recommends resources, organizes volunteer information, and educates the campus community about food insecurity.

During service, she has been proud to lead the way in forging a strong connection with the Monda Resource Center on OSU’s campus. As a result of this relationship, NSI Food Pantry has gained new opportunities for integration into the community, and McCaylee has learned valuable networking skills. She has also been grateful to participate in coordinating the renovation of her site’s warehouse, a process that ultimately became a great learning experience.

“The renovation of the warehouse showed me how much a change in space can elevate the moods of those using it, how much a nice space can impact the dignity and respect people feel, and what can happen when community members work together to achieve something, which are all lessons I want to carry with me,” she says.

McCaylee’s service has also provided her with valuable new skills in communication. Connecting with a wide array of groups and individuals, she has often found it tricky to maintain clear communication. However, this challenge has led McCaylee to refine her approach, and she now has deeper discernment in how to ensure accessible messaging for a wide audience.

Looking to the future, McCaylee aspires to lead and serve others. Currently, she is pursuing her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling, and she is now looking forward to entering her final year of the program. Upon graduation, her plan is to practice as a therapist, specializing in work with adolescents and young adults.

McCaylee’s service at NSI will prove significant in the long-term in a couple key areas. Having expanded student internship opportunities and deepened partnerships with various departments within Ohio State, she knows university students and faculty will be better connected to NSI moving forward. McCaylee has also found that her perspective of her personal impact has changed since serving at NSI.

“I think before starting my service I felt like one person cannot make much of a difference in the societal systems we have,” she says, “but one of the most important things I’ve learned is how much one person is capable of.”

Understanding the importance of communities coming together to address social issues, McCaylee sees service as a great way to become part of that work, and she would recommend the experience to others.

“I think that opening yourself up and working with people who are different than you are things everyone should do,” she says. “I learned so much about myself throughout this experience, and I feel like I have really made a difference in my community.”

Great work, McCaylee!