Up until this point in my life, participating in service has been a major part of it. In high school, I was required to do a certain amount of hours as a part of my senior graduation requirement, and in my undergraduate career at Bucknell University, I had the opportunity to participate in service trips throughout the school year.

As a first generation college student, what mattered to me most about my college experience was that I received a great education by the end of my four years. What I mean by great is an educational experience that would challenge my perspective and enhance my level of engagement in the community. I did not want the responsibility of my education to just fall on my university. Indeed, it is through my different experiences of service that I have been granted unlimited opportunities and acknowledgment of the true benefits of service work. I believe that it is only right that I share what I have gained from my service experiences with other people.

Service work encourages one to be empowered. Individually, you may find yourself seeking out opportunities that will allow you to address these issues. When you develop enough confidence to create a change for an issue you truly care about, it empowers you to seek solutions that can have a global impact. You may even end up researching projects that are relevant to your interest. Research is a pivotal part of the service work that you will do. It is something that you can show off to other people so that you can get them to believe in the work that you do.

Service allows you to not only network, but also build relationships. With that being said, service also teaches you how to transform limited resources into an abundant amount of resources. Most of the time, after you develop those relationships, people will be willing to offer their services at no cost.

Financially, service gives you an open perspective. Most of the time you find yourself figuring out ways that you can to take advantage of free resources that the city may have to offer for your nonprofit organization. Service work can motivate people to rebuild their own community. Indeed, it is the people who make up the community and not just the physical contribution of buildings and houses. In my service experience, I have come to find that a lot of community members may have the expectation that the government is supposed to fix their problems. This should not be the case. You are the only one who truly knows the needs of your community so why expect someone else to fix the problems for you?

While working in the nonprofit world, there will be opportunities to take the lead on projects that could grant your organization more money or even more support. It shows you just how powerful money can be in life when your nonprofit organization is able to leverage those financial resources. Money allows you to have security, and it allows you to have options. It is the gate to opportunities that not everyone will have the chance to have access to.

Every day within the nonprofit world, you are going to learn how to interact with different people and tackle different issues in the spare of the moment. While doing all of this service allows you to travel. In fact, much of my travel experiences, besides making college visits to different towns, began when I participated in service trips.

While you are not always compensated for service work, service work should be a part of everyone’s life because it allows everyone to have equal opportunity.