When I first came into college as a freshman, I knew I wanted to be a Biology major and thought I wanted to be pre-med as well. I took a freshman seminar class in the fall 2020 that was a roadmap for pre-health profession students, and this is where I quickly realized that medical school probably was not for me. However, this class was extremely helpful and informational in letting me know what I need to do for any post-graduate plans I had whether that be working, applying to a graduate school, or applying to any post-bacc programs. I had no idea about many of these things in high school. I thought all you had to do for graduate school was get extremely good grades and that is all. But, in this class I learned that it is extremely important to volunteer in your community. Whether that be at a local food pantry, helping set up and work events that take place at your school, or any other community service. I know for a fact that medical and law school requires that you complete a certain amount of service hours. I am sure other graduate schools and even jobs find it very important to see some sort of community involvement on your record. It is easy to get these things done when you join groups at your college and participate in events with them. For example, for one organization I am in right now we are fixing to start doing toy drives to donate to families in need across Austin. In addition to being involved, you have to make sure you are involved in something meaningful to you, so that you are not just doing it to check off a box.
I am a part of a few organizations myself, even ones outside of my school. I have five younger siblings who are very involved with our local little league. My dad and I have been volunteer coaches every year for them for the past four years for both fall and spring seasons. It is a lot with practice two nights a week and one or two games a week depending on the season, but I really love to devote my time to this. I am a big believer that kids need to be doing something very regularly because it helps them find something to look forward to, make friends, and learn things that school can not teach them. So, yes, this is something that I can check off my volunteer hours with, but it goes far beyond that. This is something that allows me to connect with my community, make people happy, and teach new things that are useful on and off the field.
Finding something to volunteer at could seem daunting and it is hard to push yourself to go out and actually do it. When you find something that you like doing then it becomes easy to go to and participate in, which is another reason to make it easier on yourself and volunteer somewhere you feel like you can create a change (even small ones). You have to set yourself aside from everyone else that has the same goals as you. Not everyone is going to get accepted or get the job. Thus, do things that make you stand out from the norm.