By Ainsley Northrop

Editor-in-Chief

Across the United States, schools vary in their policies regarding community service. While many schools deem service hours voluntary, some require students to complete a certain number of hours prior to graduation. Community service provides students with real-life experience and empathy, and schools should prioritize and incentivize such service, not just off campus, but within their curricula.   

In 1993, Maryland became the only state to mandate that all students complete 75 service hours to graduate. Former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland Kathleen Kennedy Townsend explained, “Children aren’t born knowing how to be citizens. Like learning to read or add or throw a ball, citizenship is something that should be taught and nurtured in school.” By incorporating volunteer work into its school’s policies, the state guarantees each student real-life experience, which enhances students’ social awareness.

Volunteerism benefits not only the public but also the volunteers. According to the Mayo Clinic, people who volunteer typically experience improved physical and mental health, gain an increased sense of purpose, and create new relationships. Furthermore, a Corporation for National and Community Service study found that unemployed volunteers are 27 percent more likely to secure a job by the end of the year than non-volunteers. This is largely because volunteering builds both social and human capital; by serving those around them, volunteers can gain skills and meet new people. 

Furthermore, volunteering can provide individuals insight into prospective careers and even make it more likely for them to secure a job. For example, as the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) explained, volunteer work can help prospective doctors become more “knowledgeable about the health care needs in [a] community and gain exposure to the delivery of health care in various environments.” The AAMC declared volunteering one of the best ways for medical students to increase their chances of employment. Likewise, Georgetown Center for Education and the Workforce Associate Director Kathryn Campbell deemed volunteering a “low-risk way of figuring out what skills students have and want to apply in the real world.”

My experience volunteering at Good Samaritan Hospital and through the National Charity League throughout high school has arguably taught me lessons just as valuable as those taught in school. Playing bingo with the elderly, serving the food insecure at Sacred Heart, wheeling patients out of the hospital, and so much more, I have built empathy, patience, and gratitude. I have also realized that I want to continue working at a hospital in the future. I am who I am today largely because of my community service. 

At Los Gatos High School, community service is voluntary, so many students contribute minimal service hours. While it may not be plausible to require hours here, it is certainly possible to incentivize it. Similar to schools like Archbishop Mitty, which provides community service trips linked to class curricula, LGHS should create and publicize more opportunities for students to volunteer and connect what they learn in class to helping the community. By prioritizing volunteerism, LGHS can better prepare students for their futures.

(Sources: AAMC, Corporation for National and Community Service, LGHS.net, Mayo Clinic, US News, Walden University)