By: Myjei Mitchell

    Volunteering for school can be good and not only help you with college in the future but you get to participate in activities of your amusement. It’s one thing to have good grades, and another to do things beyond what you’ve studied. But volunteering goes one step further; being willing to apply your knowledge to hands-on activities demonstrates your ability to step beyond the confines of your school and the community. Many high-achieving students remain in their leadership roles in school clubs but rarely go beyond the bubble of their personal life. Volunteer work is a chance for you to show your desire to impact the real world with what you’ve learned, and colleges want to see their students bring that generosity to the college campus.

  Volunteer work shows colleges more than just your character; it shows colleges what truly engages you, and how you pursue it in the community. And for them to see this effect, not just any kind of general volunteer work will do. Find volunteer work that is connected to your interests. If you’re a pre-med student, for example, you could volunteer at a hospital, or if you love music, you could volunteer to teach lessons to kids or, you could create your community service-oriented work centered around your passion.

  Volunteering should only ever be voluntary though because mandatory service may be viewed by high school students as a punishment rather than a learning opportunity. The idea is that volunteer experience will allow students to understand the needs of people and organizations in their community. In this way, students learn valuable skills and develop social awareness and a sense of responsibility. Some students would much rather spend their free time doing something else than working for free for nonprofit organizations that may not interest them.

  Some teens find it unfair that they have to do service hours for free, while others have no obligation. Others may not be interested in the types of organizations represented in the community or feel they can’t make much of a difference anyway. They see it as a waste of time and energy when they could be using those service hours more effectively for another extracurricular activity.

  Forcing a high school or college student to participate in volunteerism may result in poor work. This will lead to lower productivity than if they were doing these things on their own time, that they want to do.