USAO Students - Make a Difference!
Student volunteerism helps the community in myriad ways, from improving the living conditions of our senior citizens to helping young parents with daycare. We collect Toys for Tots, raise breast cancer awareness, prevent teen drunk driving, tutor kids in reading and math, and build homes for low-income families.
In an ideal world, college students would spend several hours each week on community service and civic engagement projects. Students would also make straight-A's, get eight hours' sleep a night, begin work on major papers prior to the last week of class, eat a nutritious diet, set aside time for personal reflection, keep up with current events, be active in student clubs, join study groups, and have some semblance of a social life with well-adjusted and well-behaved peers. Right. Given that we have to make choices on how best to use our time, we have to ask, "what's in it for me? In my current circumstances, what are the pros and cons of volunteerism?"
Well, in addition to providing much-needed services to others, sociological, psychological, and neurological research indicates that providing services to others makes you healthier, and happier. Although it may seem counter-intuitive, if you are feeling a little overwhelmed with the demands of college life, volunteering for one hour a week may be well worth your time. Service is good, sanity is priceless.
Also, all successful service learning projects are recorded on your permanent academic transcript. Your potential future employers (and current family members) will appreciate the level of personal maturity and social responsibility demonstrated through participation in service projects. Similarly, graduate school programs will appreciate your "hands-on" experience in your field of study. So become involved in a SLCE project for a semester and see what you think. Most students sign up for more.
Virtual Bulletin Board
- NEW ---> !!!! JOBS, JOBS, JOBS !!!! Work for the U.S. Census Bureau (flexible hours, starting at $10/hr)
- Design your own SLCE Independent Project and have service learning recorded on your transcript
- How to adapt almost any volunteer/service activities into an SLCE Independent Project
- Literature on the benefits of volunteerism and service learning
- AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America program at USAO
Post an Item on the Website!
Please share with the USAO community
any upcoming or ongoing volunteer opportunities,
service projects, civic events, student programs, etc.
Please share with the USAO community
any upcoming or ongoing volunteer opportunities,
service projects, civic events, student programs, etc.
