Community service has become a widespread graduation requirement for all students. Across the nation, more than 4 million students and over 20,000 schools participated in service learning. Some students consider this requirement as an inconvenience, but these required hours are essential for students to find their post-secondary interests and help out the community.
PVHS requires students to complete 70 hours of community service prior to graduation. Many students here use this as an opportunity to discover future career paths. Volunteering is a great way to build relationships within the community and gain experience to various career paths. Senior Nikhil Namshamgari began volunteering at local hospitals his freshman year. “At first I began volunteering to just meet the 30 required hours for freshmen and sophomores, but I soon loved volunteering at the hospitals. This volunteering experience has inspired me to pursue a future career in medicine,” Namshamgari reflected.
Similarly, senior Wenjie Pan had an interest in veterinary medicine prior to volunteering, and the service learning requirement helped him confirm these interests. “I always knew I wanted to do something related to veterinary medicine. My time volunteering at an animal shelter solidified my future career path in this field as I loved every second I volunteered there,” Pan stated.
Additionally, service learning promotes responsibility and a sense of connectedness to the school and community. A service learning requirement among all schools will help shape students that will contribute to the community. “During my time volunteering at the hospital, I was given many tasks to complete in a timely manner. These experiences definitely led to me being a more responsible member of the community,” Namshamgari added. “Additionally I met many new people and patients at the hospital and felt a closer connection to the local community.”
The service learning requirement at PVHS proves how different volunteering programs benefit students and the community overall. By exploring future career paths, fostering responsibility and building connections students, grow into active members of the community. Schools across the nation should adopt this requirement to prepare students for success and help local communities.
