Feature Photo By: Sara Elouadi- This is a picture of Moby Arena at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. In 2016, there were 33,198 students enrolled at CSU.

Throughout high school, students are encouraged to work toward receiving at least an average score on the ACT/SAT. A great majority of students attempt to receive passing grades in all of their classes while simultaneously being an active member of their school, whether that means being involved in a sport or a part of a club.

The only thing that appears to be missing is the active participation in giving back to the community.

For several high schools, community service hours may not be important or mandatory when it comes down to graduating, but it can make a difference when applying for college.

Mr. Sladek, a social studies teacher at Rangeview says, “colleges look for your grades and your involvement, not just in school but also in your community. A wide range of organizations matter too. It shows you’re a well rounded person and you care about giving back to the community. I think the more you can put out there with community service really helps shows your leadership.”

Completing any acts of community service may be beneficial but considering the type of community service done matters as well.

Sladek went on to say, “When I was applying to education school they look[ed] for volunteer hours within the realm of teaching. I was a big brother for two years and I helped at Children’s Hospital. Working with kids obviously is teaching, they valued that more than if I were to clean people’s yards. I think what service you do does have some value to it when colleges look at your profile.”

When asked, many students have admitted that they don’t participate in community service because they either have no interest in doing so, or are unaware of what they can do that matters to them.

Junior Nick Lambert volunteers at fire stations and hopes to become a firefighter. Lambert stated, “Community service matters when it comes down to personal preference. If you find something that makes you want to make a difference then it’s worth it.”

There are multiple opportunities to get into community service. A couple clubs here at Rangeview offer that option. Animal rescue is one that offers this opportunity, students who join go out to animal shelters to play with and take care of dogs. The club meets Fridays in room 106.

Another club is the Future Educators of America. Junior Jacqueline Jimenez says,  “We focus on education in adults and children, right now we’re working on DACA brochures and we’re doing faces of Rangeview, every meeting is com

munity service, we are planning on tutoring for citizenship and translating for upcoming school conferences.”  

Community service matters to colleges, the  Huffington Post wrote in an article, “Commit yourself to an organization or cause that genuinely fires you up. Use an application essay not to list all your appearances on TV and in local newspapers, but to explain why that cause matters to you.”

College admissions officers acknowledge efforts that are made to make a community better. Besides opportunities schools offer through clubs there are many other ways to get involved around Denver and Aurora, visit the websites below for more information.

http://www.thedenverear.com/where-to-volunteer-in-denver/

https://www.denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en/denver-human-resources/volunteer-opportunities.html

https://www.auroragov.org/residents/giving_back/aurora_volunteer_center