Margaret Ann Bryan

Student Activist

Although Margaret Ann Bryan may only be in middle school, she already knows what it takes to be a modern renaissance woman. Bryan, 12, attends Trinity Episcopal School, and in addition to enjoying her favorite hobbies of basketball and volleyball, she dedicates countless hours to community service. Her list of philanthropic involvement includes Habitat for Humanity, J.C.C Alzheimer’s Group and Mobile Loaves and Fishes. She also serves as Trinity’s student representative to the I.S.A.S. Service Group, whose projects this year includes work at City Park and rebuilding homes through the Episcopal Diocese Office of Disaster Response. Despite this impressive résumé, this young lady says her most rewarding volunteer experience was a much more humble endeavor.

“I organized a few lemonade stands with my sisters and friends, and realized community service could be really fun,” she says. “The reward for me is knowing that I donated money to a cause I believe in. I actually went to the dedication on a house and saw the people I was helping, and to me that is
the best feeling in the world.”

Bryan cites City Park as an example of why community service is so important. “Without community service the park would fall apart, and after the storm [Hurricane Katrina] most of the volunteers were from out of state. We as a community need to start taking the bulk of the responsibility for the care of our parks and areas.”
In terms of her future plans, Bryan says her goals include becoming a first grade teacher, while continuing her community activist ways. She says the good habits she practices now will help her teach their significance to coming generations. “It will help me be a good mentor to children and help to teach children at an early age the importance of volunteering.

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