Service Learning and What it can do for YOU

Coming into college I didn’t think I would ever want to wake up early on a Saturday morning, until I was placed with Family Gym for my service learning assignment. When filling out my class schedule before coming to Northeastern I selected the service learning section of Connections and Decisions on a whim. Although I had been involved in community activities in my hometown, I wasn’t sure about my decision. Part of me wanted to get acclimated to my new home before I committed to anything but another part of me pushed me to try it. When I initially received my assignment I was thrilled that I would be working with children, but I was extremely unhappy with the time — every Saturday morning from 9am to 12pm. After attending my first session I learned that the meeting time didn’t make a difference to me, I was having too much fun to care.

Service learning became something special to me. I was able to promote healthy living to children and teach them about how important it was to exercise, all while playing games and having fun with my fellow volunteers. I made so many friends and felt like I was impacting a lot of families. Every week parents would thank me for all the information we gave out, and kids would run to hug me on their way out the door. It was rewarding and taught me how important it is to engage in your community. Boston was kind enough to host me for a few years, so I felt that I needed to give back.

One of the best parts was meeting each week with my service learning class and discussing our experiences. It was so interesting to hear about other students in my class and what they were doing. Almost everyone was volunteering somewhere different, doing something unique. A few of us worked with kids, others with adults and even more with the city itself. We became enlightened by what we saw and some of us even continued our service in the spring. Many people explored new places to volunteer as well, but overall we understood the value of respecting our new neighborhood. As students from many different places and backgrounds we wanted to know not only each other, but the city we had all decided to come to.

If you participated in service in high school, continuing at Northeastern would be a great choice, but if you have never tried it, here is a great place to start! It is a way to make friends, experience new things in Boston and begin your exploration. There are so many opportunities and taking a service learning class is an awesome way to get going! If you want to keep it separate from your academic life, there are are plenty of clubs that love to get involved or you could stop by the Center of Community Service. At the end of the day your service depends on you. The level of commitment is your choice, but no matter what you decide you will be helping someone. There are lots of benefits to participating in service but the best one is seeing the effect you have on others and how they can impact you.