In her work with the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Newman Community at UNLV, sophomore Maggie Killgore spends much of her time assisting others. In fact, the 19-year-old education major seems to leave little time for anything other than philanthropy.
As a social justice peer minister at the Newman Center, Killgore organized the biannual Table of Plenty Food Drive this semester. With her assistance, the charity drive brought in an impressive 1,818 nonperishable food items. This surpassed the previous food drive’s total by over 300 items.
The food drive was held on campus through February and March and all proceeds were donated to the St, Therese Center, a Henderson-based organization that provides assistance to individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS. For more information about the St. Therese Center, take a look at this in-depth post.
Killgore described her role in the Table of Plenty Food Drive
“I was in charge of getting the word out,” she said, “I put up flyers and sent e-mails.”
In addition to raising awareness for the event, Killgore regularly collected the donation boxes spread across campus whenever they became full.
I was always running around and picking up boxes,” Killgore said.
Maggie Killgore posing with some of the canned food donations from the Table of Plenty Food Drive
Father Albert Felice-Pace O.P., the director of the Newman Center, had nothing but kind words when describing Killgore’s dedication to the charity drive.
“She has done a very good jon because we have increased our numbers significantly,” Felice-Pace said. “She is always there whenever we need her.”
He continued to highlight his employee’s commendable behavior.
“She was very excited about organizing the food drive and she was very dedicated to it,” he said. “She is very outgoing and always ready to help other people.”
While the food drive did not meet Killgore’s initial goal of 2,000 items, she remains impressed with the generosity of the UNLV community.
As a social justice peer minister, Killgore also serves as a counselor to many of her peers, helping them through a variety of problems.
Her willingness to help others expands far beyond her time at UNLV.
In her high school years in Gallup, N.M., Killgore served as a basketball and track coach to special education students participating in the Special Olympics.
“It was the most rewarding job I ever had,” Killgore said. “It made me want to teach special [education].”
This is what led Killgore to attend UNLV as an education major.
As a former resident of a small community, Killgore often finds herself missing small town hospitality while residing in Las Vegas.
People aren’t always friendly here,” she said. Sometimes I smile at people and they just look at me like I’m weird.”
Killgore also finds her ideals in conflict with those of her fellow UNLV students.
“I definitely have different moral values than the average college student,” she said.
“People always want to talk about how they got drunk the night before,” she said. “My life does not revolve around alcohol and drugs.”
The adjustment may be trying at times, but Killgore said Las Vegas is, in some ways, superior to her former home.
Growing up in Gallup, Killgore was one of the few white students in a predominantly Native American community.
While Killgore noted she was never excluded or taunted by her classmates, the blond-haired, blue-eyed woman said she “stuck out like a sore thumb,” while attending a private Catholic school in Gallup.
“I was the only white girl on my basketball team,” she said.
She said she enjoys life at UNLV because she is no longer instantly recognizable.
“I came to UNLV to blend in,” she said.
While Killgore said she wants to be another face in the crowd, a heightened sense of compassion seems to make the charitable sophomore stand out yet again.
