For nearly 20 years, freshmen have started their journey at Georgia Southern by participating in the BUILD program. 

According to the Office of Leadership and Community Engagement’s (OLCE) website, BUILD is “Students who participate in BUILD will experience a 5-day leader development and service program that connects students to our campus and the local Statesboro community.  Students will volunteer daily with various community agencies and participate in a leadership education program in the evening…”

This year’s work sites varied from the Boys and Girls Club, the University’s Botanical Gardens, Willow Hill School, the Transitions Learning Center, and more. 

The fee to participate in BUILD is $175 per student.

I was a member of  BUILD this year and spoke to fellow students who participated in the program. Their reviews varied. 

Dee Balaji said that she enjoyed the experience, “I think [BUILD] got me to be a lot more social because I’m very introverted, very quiet, but going to this five-day program really changed me for the better.”

On the contrary, Balaji also talked about the negative side of BUILD.

“There is kind of a lack in communication because I had to go to the same service sites, like, twice, even though I did communicate with one of the BUILD peer leaders, and they said they would look at it again, but the next day I was still there. So I feel like communication would have been [better],” said Balaji.

Another freshman who participated in BUILD, Kina Simon, also had a positive experience. “I feel like my BUILD experience was really good, like, I enjoyed the people that I met. And I guess [I liked] being able to know people going to your school. I feel like I enjoyed the people in the company more than the program itself.”

Simon continued explaining about the problems that she found with the BUILD program.

“The program felt rushed with the amount of money that we paid. I wish they were more prepared for certain things. But other than that I had a good time.”

Another freshman, who did not want to be identified, expanded on their negative experiences, “I think it’d be improved by talking to your BUILDers, I feel like our opinion matters. We’re in college now, and I understand that you know, like, we still may be younger, but a lot of the BUILD peer leaders are only a year older than us, and the way that they talk to certain people is just not okay,”

Lexi Booth, Leadership Educator for the OLCE, spoke to me about factors within the BUILD program that can be improved upon next year.

“…We always get feedback from the students, when you all are leaving at the end of the week….So we always consider that when we’re planning the [next] BUILD program. So we usually start in October, planning for the following year,” said Lexi. “We’ll take that feedback into consideration, as well as the feedback from our staff, our campus partners, community partners, just to make sure that we’re constantly improving the experience to make it the best we can for both the students that are coming, the students that are leading it, and staff.” 

I also spoke to Emily Tanner, Community Engagement Coordinator for the OLCE. I asked if there was anything she thought should be improved.

“Yeah, I mean with any program, there’s always going to be things that you could change. But I think overall, the structure of BUILD has existed for 18 years, and it’s worked, and as long as it continues, being a positive experience for the students, it will keep plugging and chugging.”

If you’re interested in serving Bulloch County and getting leadership experience, there are volunteers needed for BUILD 2025 leaders.

BUILD leaders are selected around November, then, do a weekend training at the beginning of the Spring semester, where they will do leadership development training that weekend, according to Lexi Booth.

“We just kind of talk about, ‘Who are you as a leader?’ ‘How do you lead a team?’ ‘How do you lead as a part of a team?’, which are really key, crucial things for anybody in a leadership role, but also very beneficial during BUILD, because not only are they leading small groups, but they’re also leading as part of that BUILD leader team.” said Lexi.

Previous BUILD leader Kyle Ruth, GSU senior, explains his experience as a BUILD leader as absolutely amazing, “I always loved BUILD because it combines some of my favorite aspects about life. One, being able to help others through the service that we do through BUILD, and then two, being able to meet new people.”

When I asked him how he felt about the workload as a peer leader, Kyle said, “We have some long nights of build, for sure, but the week really does fly by. So I really feel like, before you know it, it’s the end of the week, and you’re almost done already.”

“But it’s all worth it, because we do what we’re signing up for—potentially being some long days—planning of the night before, but it’s worth it for sure. Because BUILD is such a great experience,” said Kyle.

For more information about BUILD and future opportunities, check here!