As college students we don’t often have that much free time once a semester is in full swing. Between all of our classes, clubs, studying, sports, social lives and sleep. There isn’t always much . This can make the idea of volunteering seem unrealistic. However, time can be made and should be made.

Volunteering is very valuable to college students. There are many benefits such as: scholarships, networking, resume boosts, teamwork, leadership, and references. All of these examples are very beneficial to college students. College costs money and with some organizations, they will offer scholarships to volunteers. More scholarship money means less debt when you graduate. Beyond receiving scholarships from volunteering you will also be networking. Networking is important because the people you work with can become reference’s or even potential bosses in the future. Say you volunteer at the YMCA and help with their media campaign. If their manager is impressed by your work, you might have created a internship opportunity for yourself. However, what if their isn’t any scholarship involved and networking with that organization doesn’t really help your career path. There is still value in learning to work as a team or being a leader. No matter what career path you choose at some point you will be asked to work as a team or be the leader. Having some experiences can go a long way to applying this in a job setting. Finally, volunteering simply looks good on a resume. If you can volunteer for a respected organization your boss might like that and it could be what separates you from others.

Instead of playing video games, binge watching Netflix, or going day drinking on a Saturday. Take that time and volunteer for an hour or two. You’ll be helping other’s and yourself in the long run. Video games, Netflix, and drinking aren’t going to get you a job or pay for your school, so why not volunteer for a few hours. You just might save a thousand dollars, or get an internship offer.

 

-Luke Smeltz