As young people, many of us often find ourselves wondering why community service is an important component of our graduation requirements, especially when we know that we won’t be compensated for our time. With parents and teachers urging us to complete these hours, it can sometimes feel like just another obligation to check off our lists.
The school district greatly values these community service hours as they provide opportunities for students to step out of their comfort zones while contributing positively to the community. “What I can say about Alisal High is that the local community around us does a really good job of sharing activities so that students can volunteer. We’re lucky in the sense that many of our teachers attend the events with the students, helping them feel more comfortable when they show up to do community service,” Dr. Julissa Mendoza, a work experience coordinator at Alisal, said.
The community service process is quite straightforward and easy. Opportunities are often posted in the AHS Class of 2025 Google Classroom where anyone can access them.
Students can also learn about opportunities from teachers, friends, or counselors. It is only a matter of collecting the paper from the Career Center room #512, filling it out, getting it signed by parents (to let them know that you will be doing community service on a specific day and time), and then taking the paper back to the office so that Denise Hernandez or Dr. Mendoza can verify it and sign it, thereby approving the activity.
In many schools, the expectation is to complete 40 hours of community service by the end of high school, often with pre-approved organizations and divided into various categories (non-profit, educational entities, and career development). This division encourages students to develop skills in different areas rather than focusing solely on one. “The reason why they are divided into different categories is so you can explore different organizations. Career development is the business or a place they are interested in pursuing a career in so they learn about that, in the nonprofit agency they would probably learn about their community or a certain theme or interest and then the education entity is students helping in their own school or local schools.” Dr. Mendoza said.
With non-profit organizations, people can participate in the Salinas Airshow, Feeding Senior Citizens, Youth sports at First Tee of Monterey, helping in Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital, Youth Camp and animal rescue at Hidden Hills Ranch, to name a few.
For Educational Entity or Career Development, students have a variety of options like going to elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools to help set up for any type of organizations, or ceremonies. Many could be after-school programs, Digital Summer School, and Computer Repair.
Career development allows students aged 15 and older to gain exposure to potential career paths. Many programs, including Health Explorers (a program that allows students to gain insights into the healthcare field, could be job shadowing), provide students the opportunity to job shadow in their facilities as volunteers. “I recently started volunteering at the hospital which has helped me gain experience and it has made me realize that I am passionate about going into the medical field. I have also completed many hours in church because it allows me to contribute to my community and also strengthens my faith.¨ senior Arihana Lopez said.
An additional benefit is that relevant volunteering can enhance college applications by showcasing valuable work experience. “There are students who just go find a place to do it and get it out of the way, and there are others who look for organizations or a place where they might learn something new, something that could lead to a career choice, it could benefit greatly if they choose a place that they might be interested in learning about, and they decide yes this is the career I want to get into or no, it’s not.” Dr. Mendoza said.
Community service plays a vital role in enhancing the well-being of our community. When people come together to clean up streets, parks, and beaches, they are not only promoting a healthier environment but also creating new opportunities for friendships and connections. “Doing community service has helped me connect with my community. I’ve met some amazing people, and now I can list this experience on my resume as working experience in specific areas,” senior Samson Espinoza said.
While community service is mandatory, it has brought along many good factors and benefits. It opens up many different opportunities for personal growth, skill development, and meaningful engagement in the community. and some valuable lessons like responsibility and accountability, problem-solving, empathy, leadership, and time management. ¨I have completed 200 hours,” Senior Yuliana Zarate said. “The specific skills that I have hoped to strengthen through community service are strong work ethic and communication skills because they are the base of what is needed to be successful in school and work. Doing community service hours in specific categories helped me gain a better understanding of what career I wanted to pursue.” As for me, I currently have 120 hours and plan on continuing. One of the most memorable moments I recall was going to park fairs often, which were filled with many games and prizes that you could win. They were hosted by many campaigns but had students serving to get their community hours done. They always made the visit very exciting with their enthusiasm and encouragement to win.
Now that I can contribute to creating those joyful moments for younger generations, I volunteer in those same park events where we have children coming to enjoy the fun games.
Completing community service is not just an obligation for graduating, but it shapes our values and enriches our lives while positively impacting those around us. In this way, we are not only complying with our responsibilities, but we are also gaining valuable lessons and experiences that will benefit us in the future.
