Hempfield Area High School
Senior? Yes
Elite top 100? Yes
Letters of recommendation: Letter of Recommendation 1, Letter of Recommendation 2
Volunteerism, to me, means something that I’ve been doing almost my whole life, ever since I joined Cub Scouts at the age of 6. Since then, I’ve been involved in numerous projects both inside and outside of Scouting dedicated to helping others. Volunteerism means being able to donate your time and resources towards either those who don’t have any, or towards something that will be for the betterment of everyone. The volunteerism I have done has left a lasting impact on both those I know and the environment around me.
I have spent time being a counselor at a bible summer camp, and spent time teaching those much younger than me about right and wrong. I spent many hours planning, organizing, and executing an Eagle Scout project, adding in a swan feeder, a bench, railings, and sprucing up the Lowber Mine Refinement Site, making the site more enjoyable and attractive to people so that they have a place they can visit with their families. From working at various stands at March for Parks, a fundraiser to raise money for parks, to the Empty Bowl program, which raises money to help feed the homeless, to getting food for the Westmoreland County Food Bank, to acting in an anti-drug skit at the Westmoreland County Reality Tour, volunteering has been a huge part of my life.
Going forward, volunteerism has instilled in me a sense of empathy and a willingness to go out of my way to help others. When you have the time and resources to be able to help someone or improve the conditions of something, to me it is imperative that you help out the people and the projects that you can. I plan to search for different opportunities to volunteer in college, and later on in life, continuing to live by the lessons I have learned, and following the Boy Scout slogan, “Do a good turn daily”.