By Friday afternoon most people are ready to put work behind for a weekend of relaxation and recreation. But not Ken Szmigiel.
After a full day working at the University’s Survey Research Operations (SRO) unit at the Institute for Social Research—where he is involved in recruiting, orientation, employee relations and facilitating focus groups—Szmigiel heads to what some might consider a second job.
Szmigiel travels from Ann Arbor to Detroit to dedicate three hours most every Friday as a volunteer at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). His shift at the DIA ends at 9 p.m., but he’ll be back—usually attending meetings and/or working a few Saturdays and Sundays per month.
This kind of dedication is the norm for Szmigiel, who has been volunteering at the DIA since 1996. For his efforts, he was named the institute’s 2005 Gallery Information Volunteer of the Year.
Museum leaders credit Szmigiel for treating his volunteer commitments like a job and conscientiously giving his time and effort to all duties he undertakes.
Szmigiel says his two greatest accomplishments since he has been serving are the Volunteer of the Year Award and the sheer number of years of service—nine. He says his love for art was cultivated by his parents at a young age and then developed at U-M during his undergraduate studies.
“The real driving event was when I took an entry level art history class at
U of M as an undergrad; that really sparked my further interest in art,” he says.
While Szmigiel majored in business and minored in psychology, and went on to pursue a master’s degree in human resources, he nurtured his love for art through other avenues—first becoming a member of the DIA, and later signing on when the museum recruited him as a volunteer.
As a volunteer Szmigiel gives tours, provides information to guests, assists security and performs administrative tasks. Szmigiel recently wrote an orientation program for new volunteers coming into the DIA, which he says was very successful and well received. Szmigiel also was treasurer on the volunteer committee for several years, and helped compile statistics on visitors. He also assisted with the musuem’s hospitality committee, working with large groups of visitors from Ford Motor Company, General Motors, EDS, U-M and Henry Ford Hospitals.
So why does he do it?
Szmigiel says he gives back to ensure the longevity of the museum. “The giving back was driven by the need to help out the museum due to financial situations,” he says. “The volunteer group, in my opinion, keeps the museum open because otherwise they’d have to pay staff or may have to reduce their hours of operation.”
Szmigiel believes that volunteering benefits all aspects of his life.
“Volunteering carries over in a number of ways,” he says. “First, being at the institute certainly educates me about art—whether it’s the art the museum always has on display or special exhibits.
“Secondly, volunteering and working with fellow volunteers and staff members or interacting with the public takes a tremendous skill to be of service. You get to know a lot of different people and their experiences which can help you in your personal life.”
Szmigiel is a major advocate of volunteering, because of all that it gives back to the community and all it can give back to a volunteer.
“I think anybody wanting to give their time volunteering is extremely valuable to organizations,” he says.
