Community service means a lot to college students more now than ever, with the majority of graduate schools and scholarships requiring evidence of some kind of dedication to others. But, if all service were only for a good line on a résumé, places such as the Lowell Bennion Community Service Center wouldn’t last long — let alone 20 years.
This coming January, the Bennion Center will be celebrating two decades of service, including service to the U, the Salt Lake community, the countless cities visited on Alternative Spring Break trips and students themselves.
It is this last group I want to focus on. Granted, it is students doing community service — planting trees, counseling AIDS patients, teaching adults how to read, helping at an animal rescue farm — but for students in the Bennion Center, service is more than spending an hour tutoring at an elementary school. It is a way of life.
Our former director used to tell students that the U is great for helping students figure out what they want to be, but the Bennion Center helps students figure out who they want to be. I have yet to meet a student who hasn’t at least made a step in that direction by spending a Saturday morning raking leaves for those who can’t do it themselves. There is something about getting up on your one day to sleep in and spending it laughing hysterically and jumping in leaf piles. Yes, it is work, and it might mean getting up after only three hours of sleep, but it is fun.
There is no better time for you to volunteer. Let’s be honest — you don’t have the excuse of too much homework during Winter Break. Really, you don’t have any excuses at all. If you have time to go shopping, you have time to help someone else. Do it however you want, but do it! Volunteer with a friend, your little brother you never spend time with, your granddad — or do it on your own. However you do it, think about it, too, while you still have time.
We all know Christmas is over-commercialized. Use this opportunity to take a step back and think about how you, as a student, are more than a wallet and more than a consumer. Think about how you fit into the world and what it means to be someone with something to offer. I can’t tell you what you’ll find out, but I can tell you it won’t be what you think.
If there is one thing I have really learned from volunteering with the Bennion Center, it is that community service is just that — it is service, but it is also a way to create a community. When you’re out there volunteering this season, talk to the people with whom you are working. Ask about their lives, and listen for a bit. Forget about the résumés. Focus on the people, the community and your place in it. In that way, you are served in turn, and in the best way possible.
Sabrina King is the education and advocacy coordinator for the Bennion Center.
