Community Service by Rajan

Community Service by Rajan - March 2017 Scholarship Essay

If I were to give a presentation to my school about any one topic, I would present about the importance of community service. Community service benefits not only the community, but also the volunteer.

As shown in "Not as Hard As You Think: Engaging High School Students in Work-Based Learning" by Charlotte Cahill, students learn how to work with adults as peers in order to accomplish projects. This benefits them when they enter the working world and they get an opportunity to explore various career paths. A nearly identical study was conducted by Jessica Born and showed similar results. Michelle Herczog published similar results as well from her study in "Next Generation Citizens: Promoting Civic Engagement in Schools"; students who volunteer learn skills which benefit them in the work world. Herczog's study also documents the improvement in school climate when students volunteer. Perhaps the most convincing study was conducted by Aimee Myers and titled "Building Bridges to the World: Utilizing Service Learning During the Senior Year to Develop Participatory Citizenship." It compared students who fulfilled traditional academic requirements to graduate to those who fulfilled traditional academic requirements in addition to extensive community service and showed those who did the service were significantly better in the work world.

In addition to the career benefits of volunteering, as shown in "Sense of Community and Empowerment Among Young People: Understanding Pathways from Civic Participation to Social Well Being" by Elvira Cicognani, students who volunteer also feel a greater sense of happiness in life. Cicognani's study also documents that they feel more comfortable in professional workplaces if they have volunteer experience.

The best summary of these results comes from Carolyn Schwartz's article "Helping Others Shows Differential Benefits on Health and Well-Being for Male and Female Teens." Schwartz's study showed that students who volunteered had better self-acceptance, social relations, and sense of purpose in life.