Volunteering

Do you love volunteering?  Do you love improving your community?  Do you love the feeling of knowing you’ve made a positive impact on someone else’s life?  Then the service opportunities at Penn State are just the thing for you!

There are countless ways to get involved with service through Penn State’s many clubs and organizations.  Some examples of service opportunities include THON, Red Cross Blood Drives, Fresh START, Relay for Life, MLKJ Day of Service, and so much more.  The first step in getting involved with service opportunities on campus is to join clubs and/or organizations!  For me, I found that joining clubs and organizations were the absolute best ways to get to know other people with similar interests and to fulfill my desire to give back to my community.  Most clubs and organizations on campus have opportunities available to perform service whether they are athletic, academic, professional, religious, or social.

Throughout high school, I volunteered on a regular basis as part of one of the clubs I was in.  I have always loved volunteering but wasn’t sure how to get involved with service in college.  Last year as a freshman, I knew I wanted to give back to my community but I didn’t know how; plus I was really nervous to join clubs without knowing anyone else.  Luckily, my WEPO mentors suggested I join the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).  SWE is an excellent organization that combines women in engineering with plenty of service opportunities (along with tons of other amazing opportunities!) such as volunteering at blood drives, coordinating canned food donations, organizing a Relay for Life team, and more.  It was the perfect solution to what I was looking for!

But SWE isn’t the only organization that provides opportunities for service.  The best place to research for yourself which clubs and organizations are involved with service is here at https://studentaffairs.psu.edu/hub/studentorgs/orgdirectory/  On this site, you can search by name, category, or keyword through the hundreds of organizations to find which ones are the perfect fit for you!  Additionally, you can sign into http://volunteer.psu.edu/ with your Penn State Student ID to sign up for volunteering events held right on campus over the course of the year.  You can sign up for these events without being affiliated with a club or organization!

All in all, volunteering can be both rewarding and an amazing chance to meet new people and make tons of friends!

Katie Connell is a sophomore majoring in Mechanical Engineering, and is a Rover for WEPO'15!