Community Service: An Essential Part of ONU Student Experience

Community service plays a huge role in an individual. It demonstrates work ethic and character. Those two attributes are essential to have as a person. Those attributes play a key role to working your career job because they change your attitude and your work performance. At Ohio Northern University, their point of view is that "community service is about more than just fulfilling service requirements or gathering résumé fodder; it’s about adding a valuable and unique piece to the student experience." As a matter of fact, community service is something many students couldn’t do without.


Nick Pesetsky, a marketing and creative writing major, quoted that “working with other students at ONU to help the community brings out the best qualities of compassion and thrift in them and shows that, regardless of background, students at ONU share a core set of values they live by and act on.” Nick demonstrates a point here in saying that different students with a different background can make an impact on community service because they share ONU's core value. Also, Nick was not alone into thinking this. Approximately 1,500 ONU students are engaged in nearly 50,000 hours of community service each year. The students do this out of a sincere desire to make an impact on others. In this matter, quantity is what makes the core value of ONU stand stronger! In addition, the town of Ada feels greatly impacted by the students who are enthusiastically engaged in community service and the town would not be the same if it wasn't for these students. While these students are engaged in community service, they are getting better at connecting to the local community and meeting others. Engaging in community service might also bring networking opportunities for the reason being that you are constantly meeting different people. As for me, joining the community service has benefited me big time because I was able to build a desire to work with others and to learn other ways I may contribute to society. One of the many reasons why being in college is a luxury is because it provides opportunities to work in community service by volunteering in all sorts of events in campus or off campus. Sometimes we often join the community service for the reason being just so that we are required to complete those hours for a class. Instead, bring that mentality that although those hours may be required to volunteer in community service, you are there to benefit yourself, to be more resilient in your work ethic, and to be open minded to learn more about different things. Furthermore, you may enhance in other skills such as social skills, work skills, and the physical work that you might be doing during the community service.

"Students who are involved in community service projects develop skills that last throughout their academic and professional pursuits. They further their communication, project management, and leadership abilities. They learn how to work toward common goals with people who have different perspectives and skills." said by Jennifer Lambdin, ONU director of student involvement.