Every college student within the first couple weeks of freshman year reaches a realization. They have finally made it to college, but they realize that the pressure of getting into college has now morphed into the pressure of getting a job after college. Whether it be med school, grad school, or just landing a job, the pressure to be involved begins immediately. Often as a freshman in college, students try to be involved in everything physically possible. Because the more involved you are, the better it looks on a résumé right?

However, if students only participate in activities to boost a résumé, does it undermine the purpose of them doing them at all? For example, pre-med students are encouraged to volunteer for many hours before applying to medical school, but how many of those students are doing it just as a part of a checklist. They may be doing the right things, but they are for the wrong reason. It is a problematic situation because it removes the kindness that goes into volunteering. Students should want to volunteer because they have a passion for a cause. A passion to make a difference. Not because they are trying to build a resume or mark something off of a checklist. Otherwise, if the students are not passionate about their work, they will not make a difference, or at least not like they could if they pursued a cause they were actually passionate about.

I am offering students a challenge. Only pursue opportunities in areas that you are truly passionate about. Do not settle for an activity just because you believe it will boost your résumé. It is so easy to do because that is the way we are trained to think, but that takes the joy out of doing it to begin with. Whatever your passions are, I promise there is some organization out there that will allow you to pursue them. If not, create one. Now that really would be something to boost your résumé. Just find something that you care about that does not make you count down the hours until you are finished. Be a part of something you truly enjoy.

After traveling to Guatemala on a mission trip, I decided that I wanted to volunteer in a way that allowed me to use Spanish. I have taken six years of Spanish, but I never used it outside the classroom. After doing some research, I found the organization Esperanza House which works with over sixty Hispanic children. Many of the children speak English as a second language, and they need extra help with their homework. In some cases, even their parents cannot help them because they do not speak English. Esperanza House is the only help that some of these kids get help outside of school. I decided to volunteer because the cause was something that I was passionate about, not because it was convenient and could help me reach a certain number of volunteer hours.

There are so many ways to get involved on a large and small scale. Camp Smile a MIle is a camp that offers puts on a camp for pediatric cancer patients and their families. College students can apply to make a huge impact by volunteering to work one of the camp sessions over the summer. Our House is an organization that provides an after school tutoring program for underprivileged kids in the Auburn area. Volunteers can pick which time they want to help one day a week. Have something else you are passionate about? Start a t-shirt fundraiser. Every college student I know loves a good Comfort Colors shirt. It does not matter what you do or how you get involved. Just do something. Do something unselfishly- not because you want to build your résumé or check it off a list- but because you truly want to serve and help others. Do not let the pressure of building a resume, of getting a job, of being the best, prevent you from following your passions. Your passions are going to lead you to success. This success will not be able to measured on a resume. It will be measured by how many lives you have touched and how much change you have sparked which- if we are being honest- are things that cannot actually be measured.