VOLUNTEERING AS A WAY TO FIND YOUR INTERESTS

Photo by Fletcher Wold / the Advocate

From the beginning of high school, students are encouraged to get involved. Our teachers encourage us to play sports, join the band, or choose a club. If you aren’t exactly interested in “school spirit,” though, you might be encouraged to volunteer within the community. Volunteerism looks really good on a college application.
So here you are, in college, and people are still recommending that you get involved by volunteering in your community. And by “people” I mean me, right now in this column. You’re overloaded with classes, your job, and still trying to find time to yourself. It can be hard to think past finals. However, there are benefits to finding a cause you can give a couple of hours to every week.
Having an internship in your field during college is notoriously helpful for getting a job quickly after graduation. Similarly, volunteer hours can help establish your “real-life experience” repertoire.
In addition to that experience, diving into community service in the early years of your college education can help you be sure you are in the right field. Volunteering for various different categories of organizations will help you learn more about yourself, and what you like to do.
If I have piqued your interest and you’re somewhat convinced, you might be wondering where to start.
A good place to find volunteer opportunities is the public library. It is possible the library staff could use your help themselves, and if not, they are likely to have flyers for other opportunities. Another good place to locate openings for volunteers would be your city government’s website, or a quick internet search in general.
An example of volunteer openings close to campus are organizations like the Sandy Community Action Center. The Action Center is a nonprofit thrift store, where all donations and purchases go toward funding a food pantry. In positions like this, you get to exercise customer service skills, organizational skills, and gain human resource experience. All of these skills are noteworthy on an application, and will help you be more successful in your future career.
If you like children, or think you would like to go into a field where you would be working closely with them, try tutoring. If you are looking for something in Gresham, Open East School often has openings for volunteers to tutor students in their AVID program. Another option close to Gresham is AntFarm in Sandy, where you can volunteer as a mentor, tutor, or hike leader, among other options. If you live closer to Portland, you could even volunteer to be a child’s “running buddy” with the Girls on the Run organization.

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Aside from smaller, more local volunteer opportunities, there is always the option to volunteer with bigger organizations. The American Red Cross in Portland, for example is always looking for new volunteers to help with disaster preparedness. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is always accepting new adults to match with a young mentee. The Humane Society could be a good option if you like working with animals.
There are many options when it comes to where you want to volunteer, and you might be surprised by how willing these groups will be to work with your schedule. Volunteering will look good on any résumé, but the personal benefit of offering your service to others will be the things you learn about yourself. Not to mention, the connections you make with others can lead to opportunities you may have never found on your own.
If you get a chance to give some time back to an organization that means something to you, take it.

Advocate Staff