For the past 18 years, incoming Georgia Southern University Eagles have been making an impact on their new home before they even take their first class. Through the BUILD program, or Building Undergraduate Involvement in Leadership Development, more than 1,400 students have left their mark on Statesboro and connected with the community they’ll call home, including a group of freshmen who just completed the 2025 program.
“The reason you're doing community service should be because you're giving back to a community that will give to you for the next four years,” said Gracie Pham, a political science junior on the pre-law track and a BUILD leader at Georgia Southern.
BUILD is a five-day leadership and service program that shapes Georgia Southern’s next generation of student leaders.
Each day, students volunteer at various sites around Statesboro, including local schools, nonprofits and community centers. Students also participate in leadership development sessions, working through group activities and reflective discussions designed to help them grow personally and socially.
“BUILD introduces students to Statesboro and the Georgia Southern campus by giving them opportunities to develop leadership skills, engage with local community partners and non-profits, make new friends, and find mentors before they start their first semester in college,” said Jeffrey Marsh, Office of Leadership and Community Engagement interim director. “It creates opportunities to improve interpersonal and communication skills, reflect on personal leadership styles, and create connections with both the local community and the Office of Leadership and Community Engagement at Georgia Southern.”
And for students like Pham, it’s a life-changing experience. She was a BUILD’er when she was an incoming freshman in 2023. When thinking about how to immerse herself into Eagle Nation, she was given an inspiring answer during her SOAR orientation.
“I was told that serving the community before going to college would be a cool way to learn about the area and meet new people,” she said. “I loved it so much my freshman year that I came back last year and this year as a leader. I have so much fun.”
Pham says it’s the relationships with her fellow students, the organizations and their clients that keep bringing her back.
“I can do community service anywhere,” she said. “It's these students’ first time experiencing Georgia Southern. I want to make sure they know that they're cared for and that people here are kind and attentive and welcoming. Having that first step really helps.”
As a leader, she sees it as her mission as a mentor to ease the transition to college by helping students build confidence and community. Whether they’re talking about class registration while blowing up balloons or volunteering for a local nonprofit, she sees the value in every moment.
“At first, everyone will be more reserved, but some will talk more than others,” she said. “As we go throughout the week, especially with community service sites, we're able to just really get to know everyone's characters and just see how they're encouraging each other. That cheering is really great for morale.”
That mindset, combined with her leadership experience, has made a lasting impact on her personal and academic growth. As someone planning to enter law and policy, she credits BUILD with helping her develop skills in communication, empathy and conflict resolution.
“It helps me make so many connections,” she said. “I still talk to the builders from last year and they'll text me and update me on how they've been doing. But also, I think it's helped me grow a lot as a leader myself, because every year, every group is different. We have small groups and there's always different personalities.”
But BUILD isn’t just about community connections. It’s also deeply rooted in friendships and fun.
Take, for example, the BUILD Olympics, which are an annual and growing tradition at Georgia Southern where first-year students compete in a series of games before the school year starts. One of the main events is a game of Battleship, where students build makeshift cardboard boats, place them in the pools of the Recreation Activity Center and attempt to sink the other ships.
“It was incredible,” laughed Pham.
For Pham and hundreds of others, BUILD isn’t just a program; it’s a beginning.