For many Diamond Bar High School students, leadership roles in prominent volunteer clubs are the epitome of success. However, beyond the title and arbitrary “prestige,” it is becoming increasingly apparent that such volunteer organizations on campus lack the most basic foundation for a sustainable future: a true desire to volunteer.
Even in a school with significant emphasis on college readiness, misinformation is a common mistake, and many DBHS students blindly follow the advice offered by teachers, parents, siblings and friends. Students are often encouraged to complete volunteer hours as another box to check on their college application to better advertise themselves in the competition for acceptance letters; students do so for the sake of application requirements, without any consideration contributing to the transient nature of volunteer organizations. While volunteering for the sake of hours is not inherently harmful, it is imperative that students analyze the intentions behind their actions. There is an apparent lack of longevity in the volunteers, as members hop from club to club without any real commitment, making it difficult for clubs to fill volunteer slots when they need it most.
Although anyone can join any club, there is an obvious, unspoken hierarchy of volunteer organizations at DBHS. Some clubs, such as Key Club, NHS, and UNICEF, tend to carry more weight in their name than others, attracting more hopeful officers, as students are led to believe that these titles will positively impact their college applications. Still, these large clubs are not exempt from the trend, as patronage and lack of true interest is impacting their involvement.
Contributing to a lack of commitment, nepotism is rampant within volunteer organizations. It seems that the selection of new leadership is dependent on who you know, not what you know. As a direct result, new officers are severely under qualified for the role of leading a large club, and the expectations that come with it. Soon after new unqualified officers land their positions, the club’s community impact and involvement declines, kicking off the death of yet another club.
Even as older clubs fizzle out, the clubs that are replacing them are overly niche and incapable of replicating the large community impact lost. More often than not, these niche clubs are created simply for the sake of securing an officer position to list on college applications– another example of students missing the point and importance of volunteer organizations.
This environment demonstrated by our student population in the context of volunteer organizations is amplified by the pressures of college applications. This example of volunteer clubs point back to the larger issue at hand: students are allowing college applications to dictate their lives.
