Despite juggling classwork, homework, and extracurricular activities, many students are also getting involved in helping out in their community. The volunteer tasks done by students can often involve donating to a charity, or helping to do work through a religious group, but some students have found uncommon ways to get involved.

   Junior Talaal Maxood was recently involved in volunteering for a robotics competition that was held at the school. 

   “I volunteered at a FTC (First Tech Challenge) robotics competition. […] I was in charge of queuing the robot teams up when it was their time to go against each other and making sure they followed event protocol,” Maxood said.

   Though Maxood was essentially helping to run the competition, he enjoyed the event and the work, and what he was able to do to help out.

   “I found myself cheering for every team that came up. Watching the final competition felt way more intense than it should have been,” Maxood said.

   Maxood gained experience working with other volunteers to keep the event organized. He felt his experience volunteering for the competition was very unique compared to other volunteer opportunities he had been a part of because of the intensity of the job. 

   “The biggest difference between this and normal volunteering was the rigor. I had to be on top of every team and every competition at all times. It was basically 5 hours of running around the school and ensuring that everything kept running smoothly,” Maxood said.

   Junior Andy Lin was also able to help out his community by volunteering for a biking competition. 

   “I volunteered at the Spooky Spokes bike ride hosted by Innsbrook Cycling club. We stood along the bike trail and directed the flow of the bikers so they knew where to go,” Lin said.

   Even though Lin actively participates in volunteer work, he hopes to be able to return for any similar events.

   “I really enjoyed this experience, […] and it was different from other opportunities I’ve done because it was very independent. We were all spaced out just leading bikers,” Lin said. 

   Both Maxood and Lin were able to not only contribute to their community while gaining community service experience, but also found new ways in which they could get involved.