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Being a Multi-Faceted Individual: Volunteering on the Sideline The path towards a scholarship is beyond a doubt stressful. Not only do we have to tirelessly maintain impressive grades, we have to find time to attend countless of extra-curricular activities and meetings. Participating in volunteer work during our last few spare hours can seem rather impractical!

But there is more good that comes out of volunteering than we think. Here are some reasons why you might want to consider volunteering on the sideline, even if just for a little while.

Gain New Experiences

Whether volunteering comes in the form of visiting the elderly in hospital or giving tuition to underprivileged kids, your beneficiaries will not be the only ones to benefit. It is likely that you would also develop new skills and a heightened awareness of life beyond your comfort zone.

Your experiences might also allow you to form new interests, opinions and hobbies. When this happens, you’d be able to enhance your conversations with your friends and possibly your interviewers at your future scholarship interview.

Form Relationships

Forming relationships with people is important, regardless of whether you intend to apply for a scholarship. You never know when these people might be useful contacts to help you meet your goals in future.

Furthermore, your experiences with these people – whether good or bad – are bound to teach you a few things about different characters. People out there are quite different from your friends and teachers in school, so it is good to get yourself in tune with unfamiliar people early.

Build Character

Volunteer work is not easy, but it is uplifting and empowering. The sense of accomplishment you gain when you bring a smile onto someone else’s face is unparalleled.

Volunteering also builds your self-confidence and allows you to discover things about yourself you never knew. Amid all the class tests and other academic commitments, volunteering would be a good chance to get in touch with yourself. Remember that you don’t have to volunteer too often (lest you become more worn out than you do empowered); do it at a comfortable frequency.

Use It to Your Advantage

Unfortunately for us, we live in a pretty competitive world. Our ‘A’ Level results and CCAs are not enough to help us stand out from the masses. Volunteering thus gives us an edge that might boost our chances for a future scholarship or job.

At the end of the day, while volunteering might not net you better ‘A’ Level grades, it would present you with the chance to gain experience, form connections and develop new skills. These are skills that can never be taught in the classroom. So if you manage to find extra time out of your busy schedule, go out there, find out which voluntary organisation you feel most connected to, and make a difference in your beloved community.

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