What do you have to do, college wise, to do clerical work?

What would be a good place to do volunteer work? (For College Resume)?

• I'm wondering what would be the best place to do volunteer work (14 year old, Freshman). My dad wants me to go to a hospital to work, but I'm not too sure about that. I heard that Colleges can sometimes see that the hours you're doing pertain to nothing of your interests, so they think "Oh' the applicant is just doing it to put it on his/her resume. That's what I'm worried about. I'm interested in Science (Computer Science, Technology in General, Food Science & Animal Science) These have ALWAYS been my best subjects, and my favorite TV shows. :P. I'm also hope to become a Lawyer or something to do with computers (I really want to work at Google) So a Google Lawyer (Probably almost impossible to do); or Programmer would be nice. And for the school I want to go to, I want to go to Stanford. Are there any good places that I could go to that actually relate to what I'm into? Will doing volunteer work at a hospital seem kind of irrelevant? Is it better if I do it somewhere else? And lastly, how many hours is decent enough for a good college (Particularly, Stanford) Obviously service hours can't carry my resume on their own, but they help A LOT.

• Answer:

  Ask your school guidance counselor about how many volunteer/community service hours you might need, or check with Stanford Admissions. Have you looked at the service clubs at your high school? Several student organizations do service projects, which would count towards the hours you need for your college application. Joining a student organization can do two things; it can give you community service opportunities and also shows that you are involved in your school beyond showing up for classes and doing your classwork. I agree with the other suggestions to look at the Humane Society and the SPCA in your area if you want to work with animals. An alternative to volunteering at a hospital might be joining your local Red Cross Youth group. Check out this website and see if any of the activities interest you, remember that your community service doesn't need to be a precise match to your goals, this work should broaden your experience: American Red Cross Youth http://redcrossyouth.org/about/ Your talents and interests could be useful to many groups. Your interest in Food Science might be useful with 4-H Clubs, Food Banks, nutrition programs for children or the elderly. Your computer skills could be useful to most non-profits and charities. You could teach or mentor older people how to use computers at Senior Centers. You could do data entry. You could build spread sheets, design databases, design websites, etc. Take a look at this website to get some ideas on opportunities for people your age and for charities that are seeking help with computers, advocacy (which fits with being an attorney), research (environmental such as research at parks and waterways, bird counts, etc), animal welfare, and nutrition programs. Don't try to do it all, but pick one or two to try for the next year or so. VolunteerMatch http://www.volunteermatch.org/