By Natalie Ginos
Students want to make a difference in society, but are restrained by time. The Center for Service and Learning has solved this dilemma by making several time-sensitive opportunities available to students.
Students can do service for as little as five minutes, and as much as twenty hours per week. Students can participate in one-time service opportunities or long-term opportunities. The program is built with students” varying schedules in mind.
“I serve four days a week for five hours,” said Jamie Taylor, a volunteer at the Center for Service and Learning.
Taylor said other students choose to pass the time between classes by doing something that helps others. Currently, students can stop at any time and do things such as help paint toy cars for humanitarian aid.
In general, BYU students have served before, said Casey Peterson, the center”s director. The center wants to give every student a meaningful service opportunity.
The goal is to “help them understand principles of service even deeper,” Peterson said.
Peterson said the most important aspect of service is that it benefits both those who receive it, as well as the person giving the service. Students at BYU juggle many responsibilities, but through service they are learning that the more they give, the more they get back.
“By sharing service it helps you in your own life,” Peterson said.
Taylor said he has chosen to serve because he wants to help people as Heavenly Father would.
“I think it is service back to my Heavenly Father,” Taylor said.
Melissa Kuhlenhoelter, an office assistant in the service center, said there are so many different things that students can do. Students come in wanting to add something that will make a difference to their schedule. They can do that with the help of the center.
According to a handout, students can get involved with things such as Adaptive Aquatics, 4-H Mentoring, Service to the World, Project Uplift, and Adopt-A-Grandparent.
Service also builds resumes, and interactions on a service project are a great way of socializing.
The current center has been around since 1999. However, service at BYU has been around much longer. Initially it was part of BYUSA.
“It has kind of evolved to what it is,” Peterson said.
