I have been involved in Boy Scouting since I was 11. Participation in Scouting has led to many unique experiences, of which service to others was an integral part. I have spent hundreds of hours participating in food drives, trail building, and service projects benefiting not-for-profit enterprises. I have volunteered at the Arizona Humane Society, local churches, and in the homes of the less fortunate.
Additionally, I spent 5 years on the staff of a Boy Scout camp in Payson, Arizona. While I was paid a modest amount for 3 years of this service, the experience was worth far more than my paychecks. I learned valuable interpersonal communication skills, and gained tangible skills like bookkeeping, customer service, and emergency preparedness. My years at Camp Geronimo were a way for me to benefit a cause for which I care deeply, while providing a direct benefit to myself and others.
My community service involvement has continued into college. I am a lifetime member of Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed community service fraternity dedicated to the betterment of campus, community and country.
Additionally, I was involved in a program called Alternative Breaks in which college students spend their spring break vacations in a volunteer setting. For three years, I volunteered for a week at a time in homeless shelters in San Jose and San Francisco, California. These experiences were very important to me. An entire week of service bonded me to the organizations and clients I was serving, and made me feel personally connected to the effort. I was the leader of one of these trips to California, which involved a year-long planning effort and fundraising drive to facilitate a service trip for myself and 20 of my schoolmates. Not only did these trips teach me the value of service and hard work, but also the importance of long-range planning and coordination.