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Volunteering. Hot or Not?
Make your volunteer experience what you want it to be.
By Kathryn Knight
Remember Paris Hilton’s stint in jail last year? After the fact, her first few interviews revealed that she had a new priority besides partying. It was volunteering. Whether or not she has fully exercised this endeavor since is debatable. Plenty of other celebrities, however, have made a show for volunteering. “That’s hot.”
As students begin preparing for college and scholarship applications, you’ll find that almost all will ask about volunteer experience. For college, it is a top priority.
However, there are still many students out there who may have the heart but don’t put it into volunteering. That’s not hot.
It’s time for you to turn over a new leaf. And get this…you can actually help yourself while helping others.
Pursue a passion. So what if your passion is Guitar Hero? Become a Big Brother or Sister and provide some musical entertainment and engagement for an underprivileged child once or twice a month. Or if you enjoy cooking, work at a Soup Kitchen. It is so simple to find volunteering activities that actually interest you on a personal level.
Financial Benefits. Just like you got an after-school job to finance your personal life, volunteer experience can help subsidize your education as well. Many scholarship essay questions are volunteer-based. Some scholarships are even exclusive to those students who have helped out others in their spare time. Essentially, volunteering now can have a huge financial payoff later.
Get results. College admission is sometimes a game. Like any other game, the individual or team with the most points is the winner. If an admission officer is deciding between you and another student for admission, every point counts. With volunteer experience, you have a slight edge on the competition.
MykelH6
14 days ago
Volunteering helps many people with scholarships, jobs, and possible career choices. I personally have not volunteered in anything but I started to think about it because it can really help even if you think it won't. You gain experience in whatever it is that you volunteer in and it will help you advance in life.
FateniaO
23 days ago
I think that volunteering is beneficial to people because it gives a person experience when they don't have any experience and sometimes it is best to start from the bottom and work your way up. I accepted a job offer in 1991 that I may not have gotten otherwise if I hadn't volunteered. I held down that job for 12 years 8 months, and I look at it like this; you have to start somewhere. Some employers are willing to work with you if you have some experience in something. I know that volunteering can have a positive and huge financial payoff later on down the road, but the fact is that volunteering helps people to grow in many ways.
PauliusB2
25 days ago
yes, but searching for volunteering opportunities isn't.
marielena11
about 1 month ago
volunteering is great