Interview with Tara Wasserman and Casey Leppo (Class of 2015)
Leah: When did you pledge APO?
Tara: Casey and I both pledged Spring of 2013
Casey: Spring 2013
Leah : Why did you join APO?
Tara: I wanted to get involved in community service. I already did a lot of community service on campus but I wanted to get involved and have more opportunities for community service and also be surrounded by people that enjoy the same thing as me.
Casey: I joined APO because basically the same thing, I really enjoyed community service and we did a lot of community service on campus before we even joined APO and we heard about APO and were like o a giant group of people who love community service like us, yes, I want to be a part of that. So we are just so passionate about community service so we felt it was the place for us to be and like to learn about so many other opportunities that exist, it was great.
Leah: What kinds of community service do you do here on campus?
Tara: I used to do Casa Guadalupe a lot , we did Caring Place regularly, we do hospice regularly, what else do we do ...
Casey: So we do a lot of events in the community, in the Allentown community so we’ve done Woofstock. We do what’s called the Pediatric Cancer Run to Live 5K walk run, so we volunteer with that, we’ve done that for 2 years. We’ve done the American Heart Association walk, Make A Wish Foundation walk in Philadelphia.
Tara: We were Science Fair judges for Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science their science fair, we’ve done that for like 3 years.
Casey: We do Relay for Life when it’s on campus. I’ve done Jefferson Field Day, once or twice. We’ve done a lot.
Tara: We have. We volunteered for the Allentown Symphony’s Charity Ball. Anytime random opportunities pop up we like to try them, just because it’s fun to do different opportunities.
Leah: You’ve both done a lot. What is your favorite part of APO?
Tara: At first when I joined I thought it wasn’t very socially oriented, but now that i’ve been in it a while I’m starting to think otherwise, i do really like that. So, of course having all the different opportunities that I wouldn't have heard about otherwise for community service is really nice and then i’ve definitely made a lot of friends in APO, it’s nice we enjoy the same things and are really passionate about community service which is awesome as well. So it’s a great combination even though it’s not a social fraternity, it does provide social opportunities as well.
Casey: A happy medium. Pretty much the same. People who enjoy the same things that you enjoy. You love doing community service together so there’s that friendship aspect and then there’s the opportunities they tell us about new opportunities that i didn’t know existed before that aren’t advertised on campus and wouldn’t hear about otherwise. It’s really great because you get to expand your horizons and experience so many different things in the community and on Mulenberg’s campus.
Leah: Which families are you in?
Tara: Bruisers
Casey: Van Gogh. Ilana’s my big
Tara: My big graduated last year, Adina.
Leah: Who are your littles?
Casey: My littles are Shoshana Chazen and Wendi Miles
Tara: My little was Noa Ayash, but she’s no longer in APO so now my little is Neema
Leah: So Tara you are the VP of Fellowship, what do you do?
Tara: I coordinate fellowship activities, so basically anything to get the brothers together and get everyone closer together and it really does work on that friendship and social aspect of APO, so I try to coordinate at least weekly fellowship events where brothers can get together have a good time and just get to know each other. So these can be brotherhood dinners and different activities. My big thing this semester was planning formal so that was huge and took literally the entire semester and so much time, but it was so rewarding seeing it all work out in the end. I’m currently trying to do other activities more off campus instead of just like dinners, now I can focus more on that since formal is over and I am planning on planning a trip to the Iron Pigs game.
Leah: What are the biggest obstacles as VP of Fellowship?
Tara: Getting people involved definitely, a lot of people don’t want to do their fellowship events and no one wants to come and I think they are fun so why wouldn’t you want to go? But, that’s definitely the hardest part just getting people involved and wanting to do things and getting to know each other and getting people out of their comfort zone to do that.
Leah: Very nice. So you are both Seniors, so what are you majoring in and what did you plan to do after graduation?
Tara: I’m a Biology Major and a Spanish Minor and I start Nursing School in the Fall.
Casey: i am a Biology Major and a Public Health and Math Double Minor and I really want to go into public health, but i’m currently in the process of being interviewed for an AmeriCorp program in New Orleans.
Leah: Very cool. So do you both plan on continuing doing community service after graduation?
Tara: Yup definitely , I want to get involved in the community service at Moravian College which is where i will be going after this for nursing school and just doing different things throughout my life would be awesome as well.
Casey: For me the reason I want to go into Public Health is because to me there is a community service sort of aspect to it, so like you are working to better the community and you are working in the community with people of the community to make it a better place and make it improve the quality of life. So like to me that’s what I want to do with my life, is serve the community and so I hope to spend the rest of my life helping people in that way.
Leah: Thank you guys this was so nice.
