Give Hours, Gain Character

Community service is now used to “pad” college applications, and help high school students find their way into distinguished and prestigious universities. However, that may not always be true; of course there is always the possibility that today’s youth is helping their community only for their own personal gain. Universities are aware of the reasoning behind these students’ actions; they are well-known schools and cannot be fooled by these students. The reason community service is so important is because while these kids are volunteering to help themselves get into colleges they learn to deal with responsibility, and while they may not realize it at the time they are forming character.

            “One implication of the study, which has yet to be proven, is that when civic engagement and volunteerism are used to achieve a short-term goal, the long-term effect of that activity may decline” (Chaptman, 157). This quote introduces the idea that students only volunteer for school hours and gain nothing from doing so, however as it was stated before students will learn many important duties from volunteering. The qualities they will gain from completing civic duties will become qualities that will stay with the students for many years to come. Therefore, community service should be a requirement, because while students may start doing these hours for padding for university applications they will learn that helping their communities is not only for their communities but for themselves as well. Using application padding as an excuse is pointless because colleges and universities know why the students complete the required hours, and they also know that after completing the hours the youth would have gained a sense of responsibility and would have built glowing character.