Beyond the Classroom: The Importance of Volunteering
Written by Nancy Maria Fernandez
@nancymfernz
Thumbnail Photo by ray sangga kusuma on Unsplash
Header Photo by Anna Earl on Unsplash
“Life engenders life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich.”
— Sarah Bernhardt
Photo by ray sangga kusuma on Unsplash
Festive season is just around the corner as we officially enter the last leg of the semester. Undoubtedly during this time, we are all buried under heaps of assignments, tests, and exams as we inch towards the end of this year. On such an occasion, it is important to acknowledge all the difficulties we have faced this term due to the virtual operation of classes. But one good thing about online school, despite its downsides, is that it affords us the ability to attend classes from the comfort of our homes and provides us with a medium to continue our education as the pandemic rages on.
Having said that, I want to highlight the importance of education and how it will shape our career opportunities in the much-altered post-pandemic job market. It is also essential to acknowledge the fact that education is multi-faceted and cannot be limited to the four walls of a classroom — or in the present case, our homes. One such facet to education is getting involved in extracurricular activities, particularly volunteering, which is a great way to garner applied knowledge that is not usually learned in the classroom.
In this article, I will discuss the role of extracurriculars, specifically volunteering, and how they go hand-in-hand with formal academic education. Extracurricular activities like volunteering provide students with an avenue to apply what they have learned in the classroom to real-life scenarios. For university students, this often means playing university sports, serving in the student union, being part of student societies, helping out at a charity or a non-profit organization, or any other form of volunteering.
According to an article by Psychology Today, there are several ways in which volunteering can help shape one’s professional career. Besides being a valuable addition to your resume, volunteering opportunities will help you expand your social networks. This will not only help you get recommendation letters (that you might need for jobs and/or graduate schools) but can also connect you with potential future employers. Moreover, volunteering will help you hone your existing skills, and enable you to learn new ones like time management, effective communication, leadership, etc. Additionally, it will also provide you with the chance to work with people from other countries and cultures in a diverse environment. This will equip you with the necessary cross-cultural experience that will be valuable in the long run. Besides aiding you in learning important skills, it gives you the chance to discover what you are good at. This is important especially if you are unsure about what career path you wish to pursue in the future. The biggest benefit of volunteering is that it can offer you the opportunity and experience of working in different fields. This will help you better understand your own interests, passions, and career goals. Additionally, volunteering will also increase your chances of attaining scholarships and gaining acceptance into graduate schools.
On October 15th, 2020, I had the opportunity to talk with Mimi O’Handley, the Co-Curricular Record Coordinator for SMU’s Career and Experiential Learning department, at a webinar about extracurriculars.The event covered topics such as virtual volunteering opportunities and why they are important to us as students and as members of a society, and how the Co-Curricular Record (CCR) is instrumental in documenting all that you do outside the classroom. “The CCR serves as a proof of your volunteering experiences which is recognized by the university”, said O’Handley. “It also complements your resume” as it covers all of your extracurricular activities in more detail, she added.
Screenshot of the Career360 portal by SMU
O’Handley also acknowledged the fact that there are fewer student volunteer programs this year than before, due to the pandemic. However, there still are many organizations that are offering virtual volunteering opportunities. O’Handley noted that these virtual volunteer programs are highly beneficial because they are more accessible to students as they are able to volunteer from home. This saves students time, money, and energy in travelling back and forth. However, O’Handley also acknowledged that “not everyone has the emotional capacity” to juggle volunteer duties along with their studies and/or work. While some of the student societies at SMU remain dormant this term, there are other programs that are currently operating online. In order to learn more about them, log on to your Career360 account and select ‘Activity Directory’ under ‘Co-Curricular Record’. As of now, there are a total of 193 extracurricular opportunities being offered. Some of these are coordinated right out of SMU, and others are being operated by other Canadian organizations (e.g., Halifax Public Libraries, Canadian Cancer Society, etc.) that you can still access through Career360. You can also refine your search by selecting your preferences under ‘Competency’ and by choosing from the options listed under ‘Community Engagement’ below ‘Tags’.
When asked about why volunteering is important for students, O’Handley explained that it helps you “to market yourself” at job interviews and also while applying to graduate schools. “It also gives you that sense of fulfillment,” she added. O’Handley also mentioned that while the “rhetoric on extracurriculars revolves around employment,” there is more to these programs than just job-hunting. In fact, volunteering helps foster the feeling of being part of a community, because it is an opportunity for you to give back to the society. Volunteering also allows you to connect with and make new friends. Additionally, it can add more purpose to one’s life, and some have claimed that volunteering can even improve health and increase one’s lifespan (Dr. Dawn C. Carr, Psychology Today).
When it comes to recording your extracurriculars in your CCR, “it doesn’t matter how long or short your CCR is,” said O’Handley. “What matters is the amount of time and the kind of volunteering experience you have under your belt,” she added. If you have any questions related to the CCR and/or extracurricular activities, you can reach out to Mimi O’Handley at ccr@smu.ca.
