College students throughout the school year tend to be either engrossed in their schoolwork, working crazy amounts of hours, or are on the hunt for the next great party. Unfortunately, a majority of students run into the common problem of just not having the time to help those who are less fortunate throughout their community. As a college student myself, I sympathize and understand how challenging it may be to find time volunteer. However, servicing the Akron community by volunteering can be extremely beneficial for future college graduates because it presents opportunities to meet new people, develop skills, and build a strong resume.
Throughout one’s college career, students will inescapably endure the horrible group project. Similar to the classroom, volunteer work can be equivalent to a group project except for the fact that volunteers will actually carry their own weight to complete a task! A majority of students who volunteer understand the importance of completing work and are capable of completing a task on time because volunteering is not for the lazy. Additionally, since volunteer work tends to be based on the ideas of developing teamwork, college students who volunteer have the opportunity to meet other students from different universities and make new friends.
College students, aside from partying, tend to be working towards finishing their degree in order to land their dream job. Through volunteering, students receive abundant opportunities to develop interchangeable expertise such as leadership and problem solving for their future career. Considering a majority of volunteer opportunities rely heavily on volunteers to complete work, college students can further develop their leadership abilities through guiding other volunteers to accomplish the tasks at hand. Furthermore, students can develop other transferable skills such as enhancing their communication skills for future employment. Lastly, volunteering grants students access to change the lives of those residing in their local community.
Thirdly, students can expand their network and build a strong resume. Volunteering is a great technique for creating a broader network. Through volunteer work, students can exhibit their unique interests and abilities while engaging in meaningful work. Nevertheless, building an active resume with the inclusion of volunteer work is important for college students too. With the addition of service work on a resume, all students can benefit because future employers will take into account one’s involvement in their community, appreciate their prior experience, and will be able to gain insight on what is important to the applicant. Additionally, references from volunteer sites have the ability to make great recommendations for future employment opportunities, because upon graduation, landing a job may be troublesome.
