I volunteered a lot in high school. I mean a lot. (Like I had 450+ community service hours by my senior year a lot) And I absolutely loved it. The biggest reason I loved it is because I stayed with the same organizations for years. Of course there were little volunteer opportunities here and there like volunteering to make dance decorations or tutoring, but the best decision I made was to choose some organizations and stick to them. I have volunteered at a small organization for people with Special Needs called Lekotek of Georgia since 2011 and I volunteered at the Public Library since 2012. Those two things actually affected where I am now in many ways. My volunteering at Lekotek led to me intern there in my Junior year. Volunteering every Saturday at the library for four years gave me something productive to do and I also had access to new books before other people (A book lover’s dream). These experiences affected my high school experience in many ways and I thought I’d share some perks of volunteering in high school.
1//It something productive you can do with your time
Sometimes you need something to do instead of just sitting on the couch, eating potato chips and watching Netflix. It also was my way of knowing it was Saturday, which helped me not lose track of time in terms of studying and homework. It gave me something to plan around, so it made me more productive.
2//You Get Community Service Hours
“Duh, Triasha. Of course, we know this.” Do you? Do you really? Of course you know that volunteering gives you community service hours, but do you know that you can get a graduation cord and a gold stamp on your diploma, for doing a specific number (It was 200 hours at my school.) Plus, many clubs and organizations require a certain number of community service hours. Also, colleges look at them. On that note:
3//Looks good on College Applications
College like to see that you stuck to things for a long period of time. If you’ve done something for a long period of time, it shows that you’re not “wishy-washy” and that when you start something, you finish it.
4//They can relate to your career goals and boost your resume
I’m sure that having my volunteer experience at Lekotek helped me get my internship at Emory Autism Center in Senior year.
5//Networking Opportunities
You meet people who can help you in your future career. The same goes for internships. These people could offer you jobs in the future.
6//They build your skills and work experience
I learned a lot about working with special needs kids while volunteering at Lekotek of Georgia. It’s also what confirmed to that I wanted to work with people with disabilities in the future.
7//You’re engaged in the world of work and build your skills.
Volunteering showed me what I would be doing in the future. They also helped me in terms of future internships and building skills and understanding for the future.
8//You can get recommendation letters from them.
I volunteered at the library for 4 years, so I knew a lot of the people. By my junior and senior year I knew more than the new employees. I was able to get great letters of recommendations from them for my internships. (Same goes for Lekotek)
9//Shows that you take initiative
When I wrote my college essays, I wrote a lot about my volunteering experience and how I wanted to work with special needs kids. Colleges were able to see that I was working towards my future career by volunteering at Lekotek, interning at Emory Autism Center (a job I got because of my volunteer opportunities), and learning sign language through ASL club in high school. They saw that I took initiative, which doesn’t hurt when it comes to competing with a lot of people.
10//They can turn into internship opportunities which can eventually lead to jobs.
My volunteering at Lekotek in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade led to a summer internship in my Junior year. The volunteer experience also helped me land an internship at Emory Autism Center in Senior year, and I feel it will help me land jobs in the future.
Volunteering in high school has very much impacted my life. It’s a big factor in where I am now and the type of career I want to do. It has made me more organized and built has my skillset to the point where I can have a job working with special needs kids as a Freshman in college. I highly recommend doing a lot of community service in college. It’s fun, it helps people, and it can be worth your while.
Where did you volunteer in high school or college?
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