After spending a jam-packed Alternative Spring Break in New York City working with an AIDS advocacy group, Jenne Bougouneau (COM’13) returned to Boston brimming with the urge to serve. “That week opened my eyes to what I could do back on campus, and BU offered so many ways to continue my work with AIDS victims.”

A native of St. Thomas, where the disease has reached epidemic proportions, Bougouneau found her way to BU’s Community Service Center (CSC), headquarters to 14 student-run volunteer programs, projects, and events. For the next two years, she called it home. In 2013, the CSC had a base of more than 4,600 volunteers, who contributed over 100,000 hours of service in Boston and around the country.

“BU really facilitates service by making the environment on campus so comfortable for everyone to be themselves,” says Bougouneau. “That spring break became my defining moment at college.”