Doing Volunteer Work In College

Student organizations and clubs lay out a great platform for students to meet their peers and interact with like-minded people, who can become their friends for life. When you join a club, you will have to dedicate some time to attend club meetings, charity and fundraiser events, etc. Although at times, it gets a bit taxing to manage both academics and extra-curricular activities, the experience is worth the trouble because you get to make friends, learn a lot and ramp up your resume. Volunteer organizations like any other clubs are a great way to interact with people, obtain work experience and help other people.

In college, as a new student, I singed up for quite a few clubs. As the time went by, I realized I had to keep only the ones, I am really interested in, and so I backed out from a few clubs. Although I enjoyed being a part of a club, I wanted to gain work experience outside the campus. As an international student, I was not allowed to work off-campus, and so I wanted to do volunteer work. I knew I would have to plan and take hours out of my busy schedule for the work, but I was highly motivated to do so, and I did not find it that hard.

In my junior year, I volunteered at the Latin American Community Center to teach Latin American citizens English. Every Tuesday I would do a carpool, along with a few other volunteers and drive to the center to be an English tutor. I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed the work, and I learned a lot in return from my student. He was a teenager, who was determined to learn English and make a living in a country, that spoke a foreign language. I taught him how to pronounce and write English alphabets and grammar. Although he struggled with learning the new language, he religiously asked questions, and for homework, as he wanted to practice continuously even at home. When I asked what he did besides learning the language, he said he worked all day at a restaurant and came to the community center at night to learn. I remember being very moved by his strength and courage.

I met many schools-going kids and college-going kids, who fell into a destructive pattern of bad habits, parties and drinking. Even many of my peers I met in college took academics lightly and paid more interest in being accepted as cool. I honestly think that the teenage kid was a breath of fresh motivation for me back then, and I was very proud to be his tutor and help him.

Students choose to be volunteers for many reasons. Some do it to gain experience, but many do it for experiencing the pure joy of helping other people. While I was a volunteer, I had the pleasure of meeting dedicated students who took time out of their busy schedules to make a difference in other peoples’ lives. There are different types of volunteer work. Some organizations help clean and make a community healthy. Some organizations send students to visit orphanages and old-age homes to keep their residents company. You can also choose to volunteer for a charity event through your student club. Hence, there are a lot of ways to participate in volunteer work in college. Be sure to choose a job that best suits your schedule and personality.

I became a volunteer for gaining experience and to learn something new. I did gain experience and something more than. I gained motivation to do and be better and more importantly I gained a positive perspective on life.