A huge part about high school is your involvement in community service, which not only lets you experience new opportunities, but it can also play a part in your college applications.
My high school requires students to complete a number of community service hours each year. Because of this, most of my peers see community service as a “requirement” and fail to see the value of volunteering. To be honest, I struggled with it as well, as I explored numerous community service opportunities from volunteering with runs to fixing parking lots in order to fulfill my requirement.
While these one-time volunteer opportunities were fun, I didn’t feel like my volunteering impacted the community and I didn’t feel like I learned anything from it. So instead of wasting my time, I finally found something that suited my interests.
It’s now been 5 years and I’m still volunteering at the American Cancer Society. I helped with medical data entry and prepare for events. It was initially difficult for me to get used to this type of long-term volunteering environment. Eventually, I found myself enjoying my time and appreciating all the opportunities and skills I’ve learned from volunteering. The staff treated me like an adult, and were given responsibilities to take care of.
Most people assumed that because I volunteered at the American Cancer Society I was interested in pursuing medical school in the future. Though I never took an interest in being a doctor, my volunteer experience made me realize I love talking to people, solving problems, and managing relationships. It opened my eyes to the world of communications and public relations, something I hope to potentially study in college.
Volunteering may sound like such a bore at first, especially when it’s presented to you as “requirement”. However, if you find the right organization with the right group of people, you might be able to discover a new interest or a career path you weren’t aware of before. Plus, if you get to help someone else or a whole community while doing so, it’s a win-win situation.
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