Meet the staff: Volunteer and Community Service Center Director Kristi Hill

Chelsea Johnson

Meet Kristi Hill, director of Volunteer and Community Service Center programs.

Like most, Hill had done volunteering throughout her school years, but her passion for community service was intensified by an experience she had in her 20s. After college, Hill mentored a 12-year-old girl with “huge” emotional need and was forever changed by that relationship.

“I saw what one person can do for another,” Hill said this lesson, combined with her interest in working with college students, made this position at Lawrence a “dream job,” which she accepted in 2007.

Given the nature of her work, Hill’s role is more than just administrative. “I’m a connector of campus and community needs, advocator for the underdog, supporter of students and storyteller of all things amazing,” Hill said, struggling to summarize her diverse roles with students and community. You name it, Hill does it!

Much of Hill’s success in her work comes from her ruling philosophy of balance and perspective.

“Most people aren’t truly intentional about how they spend their days,” Hill said. She stressed the importance of doing only the things that matter, not the things one feels obligated or forced to do.

Helping students find this balance is one of the reasons Hill is so passionate about community service.

“Serving impacts the volunteer,” Hill said. “It helps create a healthy and balanced perspective.”

In her free time, Hill finds inspiration in her 15-month-old son, Wesley.

“He puts me in perspective every day,” Hill said.

This year, Hill hopes to continue connecting students with the community through the VCSC’s new “pop-up” service.

“We’re going to go to the students, wherever they are,” Hill said. Hill and the rest of the VCSC will be stopping around campus to engage students that might not otherwise connect with the community.

To talk about community service, running a program or anything at all, find Lawrence’s very own sage on the top floor of the Raymond House, located between the library and Kohler Hall.