Have you ever watched a video that gave you goose bumps? Even though it was a simple video that showed something not completely strange or out of the ordinary? As I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed, I saw that a fellow USF bull posted a video in one of our school’s Facebook groups. It was a neat short video of her and a fellow student, giving out food to the homeless in downtown St. Petersburg on a lovely Sunday afternoon.
Emilie Christine Johnsen, a junior majoring in Marine Biology, grew up in a small town where she actively volunteered for twelve years. She undertook this amazing deed with her friend, Joshua Negron. The two gave food to the homeless; to their surprise, the amount of homeless people in Saint Petersburg was more than what they expected. The food they gave out was from the first event the Marine Adventures Club hosted on the USFSP’s Waterfront on October 5th. A lot of good unused food was left from the event and Johnsen decided to give the food to people who truly needed it. When asked how the experience felt, Johnsen responded:
“It was very…moving, and eye-opening. You always see on TV and in the news about homeless people, and others who are struggling out in the streets. But I feel like we all kind of just shove it into the back of our mind, like some kind of story that we can only imagine. When you actually get to see these things happening in real life, that’s when you realize that they’re not just a bunch of made up people. These are people like you and me, but without a home, without a place to go, and often without family. It’s very saddening and empowering at the same time. I felt good about what I did, regardless of whether or not it was in regulation with the school’s policy.”
In regards to negativity towards the act and towards the deed, Johnsen stated she was not initially aware that in order to give food to the homeless you have to be associated with an affiliated group. In regards to the issues that arose over the kind act, Emilie told us that her actions were not intended with any harm. “You can’t punish a small child for walking out of a store with a toy that wasn’t bought, if they don’t know the act in itself is wrong; so same thing applies here.” Will Johnsen continue charity work, either with giving food to the homeless or through other wonderful acts? Johnsen told us she does not plan on stopping. She has been active in volunteering and involving herself with charitable work, she just wants to make sure to become more hands on in order to have a connection with the people she is able to help. Quite a few people have approached Johnsen on campus to make sure this event can grow within the community.
It feels good knowing that I can call Emilie Johnsen a fellow bull. A young lady that took time out of her day to help people that truly needed it. Check out the video Emilie put together, showing her and friend Joshua Negron on their charitable act:
To learn more about homelessness in Saint Petersburg Florida and how you can help, go to: http://www.stpete.org/socialservices/homelessness/