Robert Brier

Professor Andersen
Eng. 101.23
25 September 2015
Service Worth Noting
For the past few years, community service has been a huge part of my life. It has not only
helped me communicate with others, it has helped me develop strong communication skills.
Community service has also given me an outlet to impact the community around me, as well as
making myself a better person. Since eighth grade I have completed over 400 hours of
community service with many different organizations that help the community. Community
service is a way to positively impact your community and those around you, as well as having a
great time in the process. I took these opportunities to not only positively impact my community,
but to make myself a better person. Through community service I was able to develop many
skills; such as communication and leadership, something I could never learn by sitting on my
couch.
I remember the very first time I heard the words community service, it was in eighth
grade. My teacher, Mrs. Beakowski, who I didn't really like at all, said to the class, Welcome to
eighth grade. This year will not be easy, we are going to set you up for high school and push you
to better yourself and your community. One of my good friends, George, asked her how
exactly are we going to help our community? In response she sarcastically stated, By helping

ourselves! Of course I mean community service, each of you are required to complete 50 hours
of community service throughout the course of the year.
At first I was pretty angry that I had to complete community service, due to the fact that I
was not really a social person when I entered eighth grade. I was very shy when it came to
people older than me, and the fact that I had to communicate with heads of organizations, in
order to complete community service, frightened me. I remember vividly, the first time I talked
to someone about community service was at my church. Every year, the Saint Anns Society of
Saint Rochs Church ran what they call a Trash and Treasure, where people bring objects they
no longer want or need to the church and these items are then sold to those that attend the event;
with the proceeds going towards the church. I thought to myself, what a perfect opportunity to
gain some community service hours.
Later that week, I spoke to the head of the Saint Anns Society, Mrs. Giseler, after
attending Sunday mass. I was shaking, sweat dripping down my forehead, as I walked towards
the back of the church to greet her. In a shaky nervous voice I asked, Excuse me, Mrs. Giseler?
Is there any way I could help out in the Trash and Treasure in order to gain community service
hours to go towards my graduation requirements? Mrs. Giseler, with a joyous smile said to me
proudly, Of course! I will give you community service hours for your volunteer work. Come to
the church basement next Saturday and Sunday at 8am.
In all honesty, I wasn't too excited about doing volunteer work, especially because I had
to be there so early. When Saturday morning came around my mom dropped me off at the church
and I reluctantly proceed to the basement. As I walked down the stairs Mrs. Giseler greeted me
with a big smile, and my day volunteering began. At first, I really disliked the work I was doing,

especially helping and dealing with customers. Although I wasnt too big of a fan, as the day
went on I began to like it, especially because the people who I was helping were so happy and
grateful that I was there to assist them, whether it be with packing bags or bring the bags to their
car. Honestly, helping people made me feel good about myself because for the first time I was
helping and giving back to the community. The next day I walked down to the basement with
pride ready to take on the day. Even though this experience only lasted two days, it had a great
impact on me and the people around me. The service I was conducting built upon my
communication skills and helped me become less nervous around leaders of organizations, as
well as building upon my own leadership skills.
The community service I was participating in was almost like a drug to me; I couldn't get
enough and only wanted to do more. As the year went on, I sought out for other opportunities to
help my community, such as volunteering as an aid for my schools Confraternity of Christian
Doctrine (CCD) program, in which I would help out one of the CCD teachers. On the first day I
was extremely excited to be there, I just felt as though the service I would be doing would
influence the lives of the students I would be taking care of and teaching. When I walked into the
classroom 14, first grade, boys and girls looked up to me and smiled, that alone made me feel
good about myself. I first introduced myself to the teacher, and then to the class, Hi, my name is
Robert, I am going to be helping your teacher over the course of the year. The teacher looked at
me and smiled, she pulled me to the side and said, There is one boy that I would like you to
focus on this year. The boys name was Tyler, the teacher explained to me that he struggles with
autism and has a very hard time keeping up with the class. The teacher walks me over to him, he
has the biggest smile on his face, I was so happy that I already was having a positive impact on
this boys life.

Over the next several months I paid close attention to Tyler, teaching him his prayers,
keeping him on task and making sure he did his homework. As time passed by, and I spent more
time with Tyler, I began to realize that I was somewhat of a mentor to him, with nothing but his
best interests in mind. Im not going to lie, at times it was extremely difficult to deal with Tyler,
due to his autism, but I never let it stop me from being a positive impact in his life. In some ways
working with Tyler improved upon my communication skills. I became more understanding and
caring towards what he had to say and why he said it; which translated to being more
understanding and caring while communicating with others, whether it be during community
service or just with friends and family. The time I spent in the CCD class went by very quickly.
On the last day of class I was very sad that I had to say goodbye to Tyler and to the rest of the
class. As the bell rang Tyler got up and gave me a big hug and thanked me for helping him
through the year. This in itself made me feel amazing about myself; to have played such a big
role in his life, this year, was great.
At this point in my life, community service was so engrossed in my mental fibers, it was
something I craved, something enjoyed. As I began to look at high schools one of my main
focuses was to find a school in which I could get involved in not only the school community, but
in the outside community as well. In the process of looking at high schools and going to open
houses, I visited the College of Staten Island High School for International Studies (CSI). CSI
was a relatively small school that was a modern compared to the other schools in the surrounding
area. This school stood out to be because it had a large emphasis around community and helping
others, which was extremely important to me. The principal, Mr. Canale, who hosted the open
house, emphasized the graduation requirement of completing 125 hours of community service
and 125 internship hours. The fact that I had to complete community service automatically

intrigued me because of my love for helping others, my passion to positively impact the
community and my desire to improve my communication and leadership skills. I immediately
knew that this is where I wanted to go. A few months later I received an acceptance letter from
CSI. As I read the letter to my parents, tears of joy rolled down their faces and they said to me,
you will never understand how proud of you we are.
During my freshmen year of high school, I automatically jumped into completing my
community service hours with many different organization: such as St. Rochs, St. Adalberts,
Autism Speaks, Arthritis Foundation, and Breast Cancer organizations. I was so involved that I
completed all my community service hours by the end of my freshmen year, but that didnt put
an end to my volunteer work. In a way I used community service to fit in, not only in my school,
but, the overall Staten Island community. Community service allowed me to open up as a person
and break out of my shell, if you will. I was able to positively impact the lives of those I
helped and build up communication and leadership skills in the process.
In my freshmen year of high school my brother played basketball for Saint Adalberts
Church. I remember staying at his practices because I loved basketball so much, with community
service being a close second. So, I thought to myself, what a great idea it would be to combine
both community service and basketball. After a few weeks of going to my brothers practices, I
caught the attention of the team's coach. He realized that I was very eager to help the team, and
the Saint Adalberts community as a whole. At the end of practice the short pudgy man walked
up to me, in a deep firm voice he said, Hey Rob, I noticed that you are very involved in your
brothers basketball activities. I could really use some help with the team, how would you like to
help me run practices and coach games. I would love to help. But, is there any way you can

write me a letter for my school saying I completed community service with the team, I said,
with a great big smile. In a cheerful voice he said, of course!
Every Monday and Wednesday, at 5pm, my brother and I would go to the gym for
practice. The coach put most of the responsibilities on me as the teams assistant coach. I was in
charge of running practices, coaching games, and developing plays for the team; basically I took
on the team's leadership role. As the season proceeded I began to love coaching more and more.
I feel as though my emphasis around fitness and cardio during practices affected the players in a
positive way. The teams hard work in practice correlated to the court, that year the team only
lost 5 of 20 games and made it to the championship.
The championship game was a very hard one; we were going up against the best team in
the league. The morning of the game I underwent wisdom teeth removal surgery, the doctor
advised me not to coach, but I couldnt let the team down. Despite the great pain I was dealing
with, I showed up to the game ready to coach and ready to win. The final quarter with 10 seconds
left on the clock, my team is down by three, I called a timeout. The players all looked to me to
come up with a play; I drew up a foolproof play on a clipboard and told the team, Lets bring
this to over time! We havent given up yet! Win or lose we all know whos the better team. The
referee blew the whistle so loud, almost as if he wanted to puncture our eardrums. I yelled,
WILD CATS ON TREE, ONE-TWO-THREE WILDCATS, the team shouted in response.
The ball was inbounded; Jack took the three point shot and nailed it. The ball swished as
it fell through the basket. The looks on faces of my players were amazing, they were all so happy
that the play worked. The positive impact I had on this team was illuminated on the court as they
moved closer and closer to a victory. Sadly, in over time we lost in the last second by one. But,

the team walked off the court heads up high knowing they left it all on the court. I feel as though
my leadership role on the team not only taught them how to be a better team, but it taught them
how to be better people, and not dwell on the loss. The players were able take away the positive
aspects, and hopefully translate that into their future. They all thanked me for the great times
they had with me as their coach. It is in this moment that I knew what I did for them that season
was unforgettable and will stay with them for the rest of their lives. It is these moment I live for,
the moments in which my community service positively affects those in which I am serving. It
felt great to know that my leadership position on the team was greatly appreciated by the players
and by the coach.
As high school went on, my need to serve the community grew stronger. It is in my
sophomore year that I discovered, what I consider to be my greatest service towards the
community, my school's Audio Video (AV) room. A friend of mine introduced me to the parent
coordinator of CSI, who told me about AV. I told her how eager I was to work in the AV room
and serve the school community. Later on in the week, the head of the AV room pulled me out of
class so I could train.
I remember the first time I entered the AV room, my jaw practically dropped in awe, I felt
as though I died and went to heaven. Knowing that I could serve my school community and be a
part of the AV squad, as we like to call it, seemed to be the greatest thing on earth. As the years
went on, I became head director of the AV room in the middle of my junior year. I was now the
head honcho, as I like to call it, which strengthened my leadership skills. I now picked up new
responsibilities, such as training new recruits and attending every event to ensure that everything
went smoothly. As my responsibilities increased I became a stronger leader. Shortly after I
became the head honcho, I became known throughout the school as the kid teachers would

turn to if they had a technological problem. Helping these teachers, and sometimes even other
students, made me feel great, it made me feel as though I had a permanent place in the hearts of
those I helped. It also greatly improved upon my communication skills because I was
communicating with all the principals, teachers and students. Every time I would fix a problem, a
thousand thank yous were sent my way from the person I helped. It not only felt amazing to
help others, but, it felt amazing to know that my service was greatly appreciated. Being part of
the AV squad allowed me to improve on the fluency in which I spoke. Speaking to teachers,
principals, and students, constantly, taught me how to speak more properly and with confidence.
I feel as though community service is food for the soul, it not only makes you feel good
about yourself, but, it makes those around us know that someone is there for them. It gives us a
chance to interact with our community in a positive way, which in turn fuels our drive to better
ourselves as a people and to better the community around us. Community service is a very
powerful tool people, such as myself, use in order to improve upon communication and
leadership skills. In many ways community service, as a whole, builds you up from a shy timid
person into a positive leader in the community, with strong communication skills.