For Some, May Marks Scramble to Fulfill Service Hours
By Irene Zhang ‘08
News Staff Reporter
As many seniors count down the days until Graduation, others find themselves frantically adding up the hours they have dedicated to community service during their Choate careers. With little more than a week remaining in the school year, eleven seniors of the class of 2006 have yet to complete their community service requirement.
In order to graduate from Choate, all students must fulfill the HOPE (Helping Other People Everywhere) Community Service Requirement, which was initiated by the Student Council in the early 1990s. Any work beyond Choate to benefit those in need is considered to be community service. The requirement consists of 30 hours for incoming third or fourth formers and 20 hours for incoming fifth formers. Incoming sixth formers are exempt but are strongly urged to participate in service work.
“The majority of students easily complete the requirement within three or four years here,” said Director of Community Service Mary Pashley. “About 15% of the students have a difficult time completing the requirement.” So far, all Choaties ultimately have managed to complete the requirement prior to Graduation. “We have not held a diploma from any student yet,” explained Pashley.
Nevertheless, it appears that some seniors will be scrambling to complete their community service hours in the final week of school. “One senior boy told me he is willing to work all day this Sunday, anywhere that I put him,” said Ms. Pashley. “Some students will be at the Special Pop[ulation] Swim Program”, which involves helping local residents with disabilities to swim. In addition, senior students with hours outstanding are likely to volunteer with the Habitat for Humanity building project in Wallingford on the weekend.
During the spring term, some sixth formers have opted to participate in the Community Service Seminar in afternoon in place of athletics, which satisfies the requirement. This year, the group in Community Service has been tutoring elementary and middle school students twice a week at the Wallingford Public Library.
A number of students who are listed as owing community service hours simply have not turned in documentation for work they have done. Ms. Pashley encourages students to submit their community service work to her via a written letter or the online form on Choate’s website. However, “I just never got around to getting [my hours] recorded” or “I’ve actually had my hours fulfilled... but I’m too lazy to look for the documentation and send it in” are common statements among seniors. While it is usually no problem to submit the information later on, sometimes this can result in complications. Kevin Phelan ‘06 commented that he could not get documentation for community service he had done because, after finishing the work, he was unable to contact with the organization he had volunteered for.
It is usually easier to do community service work over the summer or during vacations. “It’s not that students are not willing to participate in community service activities. However, finding time amidst our extracurricular commitments and academic demands is often difficult,” said Madeline Ruskin ‘06, who has recently been tutoring at the Wallingford Library. “The trick – that I wish I had known prior to this 2-week-benchmark – is to do a little bit whenever an opportunity arises.” She pointed out that the experience of community service is more enjoyable if one participates in different kinds of activities and spreads out the work over a period of time.
Generally, students at Choate consider community service to be important as well as necessary. Caitlin Jackson ‘06 believes, “It’s good to give back to the community whether it’s in return for helping to raise you, or somewhere far away that needs your help. We’re lucky and have been given a great opportunity to be at Choate, and we’re also gifted. We should share those gifts with others because it’s the right thing to do.” Francis Yook ‘06 commented, “I think [community service] is necessary. It gets people out there, and is an experience above all else. It’s also a very selfless use of your time and energy.”
Ruskin ‘06 adds, “The experience can and should be more rewarding than crossing off one more bullet point on one’s Graduation Checklist.”
