When Madelyn Kellen was growing up, her family always performed\u00a0community service together during the holiday season, whether that meant volunteering at a\u00a0soup kitchen or helping a family in need. When she went off to Marymount University, the\u00a0Ashburn native decided to continue the tradition with a dozen of her new friends, who made\u00a022 fleece-tie blankets for a local crisis pregnancy shelter.<\/p>\n
This year the project really took off. At a resident assistant service party on Dec. 5, more\u00a0than 60 Marymount students made 141 blankets for Hope in Northern Va. Inc. The effort was\u00a0led by Kellen, a resident assistant in Rowley Hall.<\/p>\n
\u0093Now that I\u0092m an RA I was able to expand the project and get other people involved,\u0094 the\u00a0sophomore business major said. \u0093It was really a wonderful way for us to get into the holiday\u00a0spirit.\u0094<\/p>\n
Eight other RAs helped organize the event: Senior J.C. Hoellich; Sophomore Robert\u00a0Hoffman; Senior Juna Luzi; Senior Chesney Rhodes; Senior Kate Schmidt; Junior Rosemary\u00a0O\u0092Connor; Sophomore Taylor Rivera-Silva; and Graduate Student Elizabeth Beaulieu.<\/p>\n
\u0093I decided to become a resident assistant because I had a really great RA myself,\u0094 Kellen\u00a0said, praising Luzi, who is now a close friend. \u0093I\u0092ve only been doing it for a semester but\u00a0already feel that I\u0092ve learned so much and grown from the experience.\u0094<\/p>\n
Kellen chose Marymount because of its Catholic identity and commitment to service.<\/p>\n
\u0093When I visited I really liked how the school was on the smaller side yet so close to\u00a0Washington, D.C.,\u0094 she said. \u0093I could tell immediately that it felt like a family.\u0094<\/p>\n