Hoos Serving

Tobias Addis is a fourth-year in the School of Arts & Sciences. Tobias is the founder and president of the Virginia Woodsmen Team at UVA. Tobias is also an EMT with the Danville Life Saving Crew where he serves as a Special Operations member. He also serves as an EMT and Firefighter for Mount Hermon Volunteer Fire and Rescue and as an Alpine Certified Snowboarding Ski Patroller at Wintergreen Ski Patrol.

How did you first get involved?

There are a lot of reasons why I love doing community service. First and foremost, my love for the field of medicine pushes me to involve myself in many different areas of EMS, from standard ambulance work to technical rope and water rescue to ski patrolling. Secondly, my love for working in nature is something I developed early on in scouting, where I eventually earned the rank of Eagle Scout. Being able to carry on my love for serving nature and those that enjoy it through my college experience has been one of my proudest accomplishments, and I hope that the Virginia Woodsmen Team can carry on that dedication for years to come.

What has been most rewarding?

I would say the most rewarding aspects of volunteer medical work is knowing that you worked to help someone in a time of desperate need. Being able to apply yourself in stressful situations, navigate the needs of others, and provide your services to the highest degree is an incredibly rewarding process and something I truly love doing. Working with forestry conservation is also incredibly rewarding, especially being able to look back at your service projects and see your hard work come into fruition, whether it be a rebuilt hiking trail, cleared fallen trees, or fixing structures at our state parks.

How would you encourage others to get involved?

People should definitely spend some time getting out and trying to help others! It's an awesome feeling and a great way to spend extra time, and thankfully, there are TONS of opportunities and organizations at UVA that make it easy. I personally recommend checking out the Virginia Woodsmen Team if you love the outdoors, camping, hiking, and volunteering. It's a fantastic way to serve our state parks that serve as an extraordinary example of conservation.

How do you plan to be involved in the community in the future?

I definitely will be continuing my #CommunityCommitment by furthering my training in EMS and Fire Rescue, continuing to work with the National Ski Patrol to become a Mountain Travel and Rescue Instructor, and working with the Virginia Woodsmen Team at UVA to provide awesome service opportunities for UVA students!

What is your favorite UVA tradition?

My favorite UVA tradition is definitely singing the Good Old Song at our sports games!

If you could do one thing to make the world a better place, what would it be?

If I could do one thing to make the world a better place I'd make COVID-19 disappear!