Does Service Benefit the Student? by Madelyn
Madelyn's entry into Varsity Tutor's January 2022 scholarship contest
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Does Service Benefit the Student? by Madelyn - January 2022 Scholarship Essay
This year I have been blessed to have a large facet of my day to day mindset be service. Finding and accomplishing simple acts of daily, self-sacrificial service has benefitted me greatly in all aspects of my life. It's just as the famous verse states: "it is better to give than to receive"(Acts 20:35). In a year as challenging as 2021, it is crucial and fruitful to think of others more often than yourself in a myriad of ways.
A great way to serve people that I have found starts with always being aware of others and potential obstacles or tasks that they may be facing. Then, I ask myself if I can help them with that particular thing that they are facing. One example of this is voluntarily tutoring a friend or sibling in a subject that he or she is struggling in. This not only aids them academically, but can boost their confidence, prepare them for future lessons and classes, and help them help their friends. In addition, tutoring can even bolster your own skills in that area of study, for as Seneca the Younger said: "by teaching, we learn." Some other examples are doing household chores without being asked, holding the door for others, or babysitting for free for tired parents.
Service greatly benefits me academically in these two major ways. Firstly, being in a constant mindset of service helps develop a humble attitude with which it becomes easier to ask peers and teachers questions about a certain subject. Learning from those more skilled than myself has been an irreplaceable factor of my academic career. Secondly, as I mentioned earlier, the servile act of teaching others significantly aids me academically because teaching a concept helps to additionally solidify that concept in my brain.
In conclusion, students of all ages would be greatly benefitted in their academic careers by daily acts of service because it would prepare them to ask questions and truly solidify an educational concept.
