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trains local people to provide medicalassistance when the foreign teams arenot present. 2 Mr. Mishler’s responsibilitiesas a volunteer project managerfor this organization include going toNicaragua ahead of medical personnelto arrange logistics and to set up computernetwork systems, which he takeswith him, for the doctors and nurses touse once they arrive. He has delightedme on several occasions with stories ofhis ingenuity in getting his equipmentinto very remote areas of Nicaragua.However, it is his tales of ministrationto a group of people that would otherwisehave little access to modern healthcare that are the most heartwarming.Mr. Joseph Lowry (inducted in1996 as a graduate student) is a fulltimeinstructor at Oakland CommunityCollege and has been involvedin outreach activities for many years.During the normal school year he goesto three or four different elementaryschools and does science activities withclasses ranging from kindergarten toeighth grade. He covers topics in bothphysics and astronomy through demonstrationsand hands-on activities;quite frequently undergraduates fromhis classes help him with this service.The past eight summers Mr. Lowryhas also volunteered at a Girl Scoutcamp where he works with 60 to 85girls constructing scale models of thesolar system, building solar ovens, andassembling individual compasses thatthe campers use for navigation.Several Eastern Michigan UniversitySigma Pi Sigma alumni help thenext generation of physics studentsMr. Joseph Lowry demonstrating Faraday’s Law to elementary school children.Photo courtesy of Diane Jacobs.by tutoring. Mr. Timothy Marvin(inducted in 1995 as an undergraduate)volunteers as an algebra tutor for ayoung man who left high school withouta diploma and who is now studyingfor his GED. Mr. Steven Schultz(inducted in 2011 as an undergraduate)is one of the newest members of ourchapter who aid the department by tutoringfreshman- and sophomore-levelstudents. Mr. Marvin, Mr. Schultz,and other alumni judge at science fairsor participate in science competitionssuch as the Science Olympiad. Mr.Mark Creps (inducted in 1997 as anundergraduate) works as a technicalexpert for Elastizell Corporation ofAmerica and had not used his physicsin the community until one day whenhe played hockey with a local highschool teacher who was organizing ascience fair. The teacher was lookingfor qualified judges and was havingdifficulty finding experts in physicsand engineering. Mr. Creps jumpedat the chance to be a judge and toldme, “I think our input was valuable tothe students. Some needed help witharticulating the theory behind theirproject and many needed help with thescientific process.”I have shared some of the serviceactivities of 4% of the Sigma Pi Sigmaalumni from my chapter, and my chapteris only one out of 547 in the nation.This should give us all a sense of thepower of ΣΠΣ to enrich the world, becausewe realize that “Sigma Pi Sigmapromotes a spirit of community amongits members and encourages them tooffer their collective wisdom and perspectivesin the service of the larger society.”3 I hope you will continue whateverservice you have been doing or, ifyou have been waiting for the right opportunity,I encourage you to contactyour local Sigma Pi Sigma chapter andask how you can be involved. The studentswouldbe excitedto learn howyour physicsdegree preparedyou foryour professionalcareer.It would beinvaluable forthem to learnthat physicistsare employedin many,many differentareas,some quiteunexpected.The mainpoint is that itdoesn’t matterwhere you areI hope you willcontinue whateverservice youhave been doingor, if you havebeen waitingfor the rightopportunity, Iencourage you tocontact your localSigma Pi Sigmachapter and askhow you can beinvolved.in your career as a student or a professional,you can make a difference. Evenservice you believe to be insignificantcan have a tremendous impact on othersand help you to learn somethingabout yourself. Through the practice ofcontinued service, and its rewards, youcan come to look at your contributionsas an essential component of what itmeans to be a physicist. Einstein oncestated, “Only a life lived for others is alife worthwhile,” 4 but I think MahatmaGhandi said it best: “Consciously orunconsciously, every one of us doesrender some service or other. If wecultivate the habit of doing this servicedeliberately, our desire for service willsteadily grow stronger, and will make,not only our own happiness, but thatof the world at large.” 5 rBibliography1. http://www.sigmapisigma.org/sig_mission.pdf2. http://www.hopeclinicinternational.org3. http://www.sigmapisigma.org/s_mission.pdf4. http://einstein.biz/quotes5. Easwaran, Eknath. Gandhi the Man: How OneMan Changed Himself to Change the World.Nilgiri Press, CA, 2011.Spring 2012 Radiations 11