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Tip
Sheet: Culture & Living Tip sheets highlight timely news and events at Washington University in St. Louis. For more information on any of the stories below or for assistance in arranging interviews, please see the contact information listed with each story. For comments on the Culture & Living news tips service, please contact the editor, Sue Killenberg McGinn at (314) 935-5254 or susan_killenberg_mcginn@aismail.wustl.edu. Students volunteering their time and talent on the increase Media assistance: Neil Schoenherr - (314) 935-5235 Source: Stephanie Kurtzman - (314) 935-5066 Related: Office of Community Service Related: Washington University Magazine article on Service First [St. Louis, Mo., March 2003] - College students today are incredibly busy. There are so many demands on their time, from attending classes, to studying for exams, to writing papers, to participating in extracurricular activities, to holding down part-time jobs. Yet in spite of these draws on their time, a growing trend among college students, according to a community service coordinator at Washington University in St. Louis, is a desire to give something back to their communities by volunteering their time and talent. Nearly two-thirds of college seniors have done community service or volunteer work during their college careers, according to the 2002 National Survey of Student Engagement. The survey is based on information from 135,000 students at 613 different four-year colleges and universities.
"I think college students first come into volunteering for the purposes of having fun, meeting new people and getting off campus," says Stephanie N. Kurtzman, coordinator for Community Service at Washington University in St. Louis. "They may not come in for social justice reasons, but what they eventually get out of it is on a much deeper level. It's a greater awareness of social issues, a sense of perspective of the privileges they have and a greater understanding that the stresses they face every day may not be as bad as they thought, compared with homeless people or HIV patients. "The greatest benefit of volunteering is that students, hopefully, end up with a lifelong commitment to social justice and community involvement," Kurtzman says. While college students volunteer in many areas, Kurtzman sees the greatest activity by Washington University students is in tutoring and mentoring of elementary and high school students. There is also a large interest in combating hunger and homelessness, as well as in participating in philanthropy events for health-related causes, such as a cure for cancer and AIDS. Kurtzman sees Sept. 11 as somewhat of a turning point. "That tragedy really showed us that people's first inclination when they want to respond is to volunteer in some way. For college students, it was an immediate 'What can I do?' response," she notes. "They started giving blood and donating money to relief agencies. I think that energy to volunteer continues today." Students are generally excited about giving back, Kurtzman says, and they have a very high level of commitment and determination, even though many are volunteering in cities and towns not their own while away at college. "I think volunteering can be a wonderful way to understand and explore the city you live in," she says. "Students come in thinking they will do community service because it puts a smile on someone's face, and that's a great start. But then they begin to see the broader impact that their efforts have on the community in which they live -- that really gets them excited." Making connections Kurtzman's Office of Community Service at Washington University is a clearinghouse for all the volunteer opportunities with which students can become involved. "This office was created because there was a real risk that students were falling through the cracks," Kurtzman says. "They didn't really know all of their options and didn't know exactly how to find service opportunities on campus and in the community. "The goal of my office is to help students and student groups make effective connections with the agencies who need our help.
Washington University junior Juliet DiLeo began volunteering the first semester of her freshman year. For the past three years, she has spent 2 1/2 hours a week working with Each One Teach One, tutoring children from St. Louis Public Schools. "Interacting with the students has been a fun and somewhat-relaxing break from my studies," DiLeo says. "It also provides a chance to learn more about the people and community of St. Louis, and it's great way to meet the other tutors from the university." Community service also gives students a perspective on what's important in life and changes the way they look at their own stress, exams and papers. "By making some kind of volunteer experience a regular part of my life, I think that I've been able to develop a certain level of maturity -- understanding the realities and injustices that many people face on a daily basis -- and a resolve to always seek that level of awareness and get involved in promoting change," DiLeo says. Kurtzman says that for her and her counterparts at other universities and colleges nationwide, the long-term goal is to help students think about their lives in a socially responsible way and to help them continue to be good citizens and responsible leaders long after their time in school is over. |
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