Potomac Student Volunteers Serve Community

When students Seyeon and Yiyeon Seo traveled to the Dominican Republic on a mission trip last year, they were awestruck by the living conditions.

“Every two hours the electricity went out, mosquitoes were everywhere, you couldn’t shower unless it rained and there were barely any roads – they were plain mud,” Seyeon said.

The girls had never traveled outside the country for a mission trip before, and the experience gave them a new perspective.

“I experienced a lot of things I would’ve never experienced,” Seyeon said. “I strongly encourage people to participate in community service because, not only does it benefit the society, it benefits the volunteer as well.”

The county hopes to engage 25,000 people in service projects during the week of Oct. 16-22.

Many local students are already involved in community service through Maryland’s mandatory Student Service Learning program. The Seo sisters first started volunteering for their mother at the United Korean School of Washington and began earning service hours in middle school.

Maryland requires students to complete 75 hours of community service before high school graduation. Some students go above and beyond the minimum requirement, and Montgomery County awards those who complete more than 260 service hours with a Certificate of Meritorious Service.

Nicole Malament, a junior at Churchill, has logged more than 800 community service hours since first volunteering in sixth grade. She completed those hours while also participating on the Junior Executive Board, English and Spanish Honor Societies, Civitan’s Club, cross country team, and as Vice President of the Russian Club and archive manager for Churchill High’s monthly newspaper.

Another junior, Christopher Woo, has had a chance to jumpstart his dream career in medicine while volunteering at the .

“I started volunteering at the hospital due to my interest in medicine,” Woo said. “However, I grew to love assisting the patients.”

Like the Seo sisters, Woo came to learn that volunteering to help others is beneficial for the one who serves, not just those whom he serves.

“One patient was so thankful of my help that when he was being discharged, he specifically called me over to express his gratitude,” Woo said. “As a volunteer in a hospital, I believe that is the best paycheck you could ever get, knowing that you impacted someone’s life in their time of need.” 

Montgomery County’s Community Service Week is in full swing, and Patch would love to share your story. How do you stay involved with your community? What service projects are important to you? We will run a series of stories profiling community service in and around the Potomac community all week, so send in your own photos and stories of community service! Email Potomac Patch editor katie.griffith@patch.com for more information.