Profiles In Student Leadership: Alyssa Hoover, CARPOOL
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) this month recognized CARPOOL, a Texas A&M University non-profit, student-run organization, for its efforts in providing “safe rides to help save lives on Texas roadways.” Alyssa Hoover ’14, current chair of CARPOOL, says her involvement with the organization “taught me that not only could I make a significant difference, but that I absolutely must.”
It was that kind of motivation in an Aggie student that gave rise to CARPOOL (Caring Aggies R Protecting Over Our Lives) in 1998, after Texas A&M student Jeff Schiefelbein received a DWI in College Station and began an 18-month probation sentence. As part of his restitution, Schiefelbein was required to appear at a MADD Victim Impact panel where he heard from a woman whose daughter died as a result of a drunk driving incident. After that experience, he was inspired to create a safe-ride program for the Bryan-College Station community and to date, CARPOOL volunteers have given more than 210,000 safe rides home.
Hoover, a senior psychology major from Plano, Texas, has been involved in CARPOOL since her freshman year at Texas A&M. “I learned about it at Fish Camp and immediately wanted to join,” she recalls. “To me it seemed to be the perfect combination of service and fun. Although the devastating effects of drinking and driving have never personally impacted me, I’ve always been very sensitive to the stories of those that have been affected.”
CARPOOL volunteers are Texas A&M students who provide community residents and students with free rides home every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. during the spring and fall semesters. The rides are “non-judgmental” and given not only to intoxicated persons, but also to people who lack transportation due to any other circumstances.
As chair of this 300-member group, Hoover, along with her vice-chairs, manages internal issues such as finance and risk management, as well as external areas including fundraising and public relations. But Hoover credits the organization’s members for making her job simple. “They are all very driven, caring, self-sufficient, brilliantly hilarious and friendly,” she states. “They inspire and renew me through every interaction and I honestly feel like they have a greater impact on me than I do on them!”
Media contact: Lesley Henton, Texas A&M Division of Marketing & Communications.