Seton-LaSalle High School
Senior? Yes
Elite top 100? Yes
Letters of recommendation: Letter of Recommendation 1, Letter of Recommendation 2
African American activist and icon Muhammad Ali once said, “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” According to Ali, it is our moral duty as human beings to provide service to others out of the goodness of our hearts, as payment for the gift that is our lives. Throughout my life, service has played a huge role in my development as both a student and person, and it means a great deal to me for a number of reasons. Firstly, volunteering gives me an outlet in which I can return into the world all the blessings with which I have been gifted. These things, I have done nothing to earn, were given to me, and it is my obligation to help those who are not as fortunate. Volunteer work is also important to me because it shows me the good nature that is inherent to human beings. For many people, the idea of doing tasks ranging from extreme physical labor to the most menial work without pay is far from enticing to say the least. Volunteers, however, sometimes dedicate their lives to this line of work, not because it pays well or provides luxuries of any sort, but because it gives a sense of satisfaction that is truly a rare find in the world today. Volunteer work is something I hold dear to me, and it will continue to be in the years to come.
Volunteer work allows a person to pay both themselves and others through charitable actions. There is no more rewarding sight than the glowing looks of those who have an unequivocal appreciation for the work you have just done for them. Volunteer work is not just a physical experience, but rather, it is often an emotional experience, capturing the hearts and minds of both those serving and those being served. Volunteer work has helped me grow as a person, and it has provided me with fond memories I will cherish for a very long time. The feeling that comes with participating in these acts of service is addictive, and it leaves a person coming back for more after each act of service.
Going forward, I believe service will continue to play an essential role in my ongoing quest to become the best person I can be. The service of others has provided me with so much in my life that I would be selfish not to pay forward what I have been given. Without the generous acts of service of millions of people across the world, the world as we know it today would be in a much darker place. Volunteers spread joy, and each and every day, they continue to cast out darkness. Volunteer work has been an important part of my life thus far, but I still have rent to pay and lives to change.