My Volunteer Experience
By Joy Chen
As a junior at Hinsdale
Central High School, my Spanish teacher approached me and my peers asking us if
we would be interested in being student election judges. I immediately jumped
at the chance, and on April 4, 2017 I spent the day inside Westmont Junior High
School’s gymnasium instead of the classroom. I can now say it was an invaluable
experience. Shortly after, I signed up to volunteer for Ameya Pawar’s
gubernatorial campaign. In August, I started senior year with AP U.S.
Government and Politics early on in my day.
One of the class
requirements was to volunteer for a political campaign or organization. I
decided to complete my hours at DGTDO after my teacher, Mr. Wilbur, posted
about the opportunity on our class dashboard. Over the course of a couple months,
I attended monthly meetings, canvassed around DuPage County, and spent time in
the office with other students and members. My time volunteering made me
realize that, despite my age, I have the power to affect the political process.
It seems like these days that’s becoming an increasingly rare attitude, but
it’s an attitude I hope my peers will all come to adopt as well, especially
because in our current political climate there is nothing more dangerous than
apathy.
Most students I talk to
don’t know how easy it is to get involved in politics. Hopefully, that will
change soon; current sophomores will be the first class required to take a
civics class to graduate. I’m sure some people will see volunteering as yet
another checkbox to tick off, but I’m also sure many more will be inspired by
how dedicated and passionate political volunteers are here in DuPage County.
