On Tuesday night, October 22nd, more than 250 Nichols students jammed Daniels Auditorium where they heard the success story of Ben Simon, who shared how and why he created the Food Recovery Network–a revolutionary organization that transfers tons of unused food from almost 100 universities to local non-profits who serve the hungry.

Simon really lit a fire in the first year Nichols College students who are taking a new required course in leadership. Although expected to attend the event, the first year students flocked to Simon following his speech.

In his opening remarks, Simon noted that as much as 40% of food prepared in homes, restaurants, and institutions goes to waste while one in six Americans goes hungry. He passed around an oversized sweet potato to reinforce his point that 20% of fruits and vegetables never leave the farm because they may not look appealing to shoppers.

Simon explained that he and some college friends started the Food Recovery Network when they realized how much food was simply thrown away from the dining halls at the University of Maryland, where he graduated last spring. “We couldn’t believe this food was going to waste while so many people in the community were struggling with hunger,” he recalled.

In the first semester of operation, the Food Recovery Network donated 15,000 pounds of food to local organizations that distributed it to the hungry. Last year, the number of participating colleges jumped from 22 to 98. Over the past three years, the group has donated almost 500,000 pounds of food to participating organizations.

Simon’s vision is to double that number in 2015, and he hopes to start a chapter at Nichols–where leadership opportunities in community service abound. Speaking of leadership, Simon says…

• “One of the most important qualities of leadership is to be positive and resilient.”
• “No business ever springs to life without hitting challenges.” (Alluding to his own failed start-up of a social and political network early in his college career. That failure cost him and his backers–mostly family and friends–$80,000, he calculated.)
• “Embrace ‘epic fails’. It feels bad when your idea doesn’t work out but I wouldn’t have traded that experience for the world.”

His best advice: “Get started early. Throw yourself into something while you’re still a freshman. There’s a learning curve to leadership.”

Social:

• University of Maryland Alumni Association Facebook

Some colorful new stickers have appeared around the Nichols College campus since October 11. What the stickers signify is pretty important. The symbols, a ribbon with the Nichols green and a rainbow, represent SAFE ZONE, an initiative that brings together the Nichols College community and tolerance.

SAFE ZONE makes it known to anyone who is part of the LGBT community that there is an extra network here to support them. I spoke with the Dean of Students, PJ Boggio, about SAFE ZONE and how the whole campus is involved.

PJ wants everyone to know that when they see the SAFE ZONE stickers, they should be reassured that Nichols accepts everyone for who they are.

On October 10th, PJ emailed the whole campus explaining to everyone the concept and goal of SAFE ZONE. In her email, PJ shared the names of the 55 SAFE ZONE members, who were invited to take and post to social media “selfies” in front of the stickers they’d posted to the doors of their offices.

When I talked to PJ she said people are still trying to get onto the list. As a student, it’s great to see all the support from our faculty and staff.

Another thing we talked about was how just because a name is not on the list, doesn’t mean you can’t approach them with a question or if you need guidance. Many people at Nichols are 100% on board with SAFE ZONE, so students should feel comfortable discussing LGBT issues with anyone—regardless of whether or not they’re affiliated with SAFE ZONE.

With that openness in mind, PJ doesn’t want people to feel like they have to talk only to the faculty and staff on the SAFE ZONE list. Soon, almost every building at Nichols will have its own SAFE ZONE decal so all members of our community will feel welcomed wherever they are on campus.

Despite what people may say, no I am not crazy for coming to Nichols College, and yes I do know my two older brothers go here. My name here isn’t Catherine anymore it’s primarily Pat Hoey’s little sister, but I am here to show everyone that Sean and Patrick are now known as Catherine Hoey’s older brothers. Also, however you pronounce my last name now is probably wrong, just know if my dad is around to pronounce it correctly. Did I mention there is a fourth Hoey here? While we don’t share the same last name, we still count Robbie Clay as one of us.

My brothers definitely influenced me a lot to come here, but they were not the only reason why I chose to enroll. When we were younger our dad would take us up to Nichols for homecoming because he was also a student here. I have been on this campus since 2001 when my dad received his Master’s degree, and I’ve loved it here ever since.

When it came time for me to make my decision, I knew I was going to go to Nichols, but I still looked at other schools and nothing compared. The fact that my brothers also go here just reinforced my decision.

I knew people would ask us why we all come to Nichols and my answer is that I hope we get something named after us. OK, Not really, but I don’t think we would complain if there were.