Try Something

Moving around as a child and adjusting to new communities prepared Natalie to enter her career at VCU on solid footing. “Nobody in my family was born in the same state! We lived in Germany and Florida,” she recalled, “but I really liked Nebraska for all the snow! All my friends would come over to sled the hill in our backyard.”

Now, Natalie is an active and outgoing junior. She’s a member of the Emerging Leaders Program and is also on the executive board of VCU’s homeland security fraternity. Although Natalie is very involved in the VCU community, she wanted to find additional ways to connect and give back. “I was looking for volunteer opportunities, and I stumbled upon Stories & Lunch at the Pace Center,” she said. Skeptical at first, she decided to give it a chance. “I was like, you know what, you never know what's gonna happen if you don't try something!”

Stories & Lunch, a weekly shared meal at the Pace Center provided Natalie with the opportunity to experience the diversity of VCU’s broader community. “In all my other spaces, I don't really interact with many non-student adults,” she explained. “But at Pace, I get to see people of all different backgrounds. The other week, I met a student who is also a working mother with a teenage son. It’s cool to hear her perspective and to get to eat with professors and people from different churches. VCU is the students, but it's also the whole surrounding community.”

For Natalie, the Pace Center is more than just a place to volunteer. “I get to come here and eat real food. I talk to real people and just connect. Everybody asks questions and encourages others to talk. Even something as simple as asking how someone’s day is going helps give Pace its vibe - eclectic, but so homey.”

Through her involvement at the Pace Center, Natalie discovered a unique community that embraces diversity and fosters genuine connections—helping her grow both personally and as a member of the larger VCU family. “Coming to Pace, I feel like you can make VCU whatever you want it to be!”

Thanks to your generous support, the Pace Center can continue to nurture its eclectic, yet homey community at VCU.