Sarah Torres

College of Education

9/26/2020

Community Service Reflection Paper

To have a positive impact on society starts with a person who is willing to acquire life

skills and knowledge. Volunteering and putting on service events can be used as a way to

advocate for causes that a person is passionate about. I had a great opportunity to volunteer for

community service. I spent more than 30 hours coaching the junior varsity softball team at

Madison High School. My experience coaching was one of the best things I have ever

volunteered for. After this experience, I have learned a lot about students and myself. This

community service experience will help me grow as an educator in this profession.

I volunteered to coach the Madison Junior Varsity high school softball team for various

reasons. It offered me the chance to give something back to the community. Also, provided an

opportunity to develop new skills and build existing experience and knowledge. The more I gave

to the team, the happier I felt. This community service experience made me increase my

self-confidence. I felt a natural sense of accomplishment. My role as a coach gave me a sense of

pride and identity. There is a quote by Winston Churchill about giving back. The quote is “You

make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.” This quote has always stood

out to me because the key to happiness is helping the lives of others and contributing to your

community.

When I heard about this position, I took it without hesitation. During my experience of

coaching, I encountered a lot of obstacles. One of the tasks I overcame was working with a large

group of girls and teaching them about good communication. I had to work with girls
individually and critique them on softball drills. I had the opportunity to get to know the girls and

build relationships with them. Sometimes I had to be harsh on the girls to improve them.

Another thing that I did was built their confidence. Some students needed to be more confident,

and I had the chance to change that. I reminded the girls constantly how much of a great team

they were. I was so proud of the young ladies they had become just within a matter of weeks of

volunteering. I am a person they look up to.

After completing my community service, I learned a variety of things. Volunteering for

community service is a learning experience. I learned new skills and new passions, gaining new

insights about myself. Coaching the Junior Varsity taught me self-discipline and provided

steadiness and stability. The biggest takeaway from my community service experience was how

it helped me with my professional growth as an educator. This experience will help me with my

professional growth as an educator in several ways. This experience taught me to become a

better leader and develop a sense of pride in contributing to students’ success. This experience

relates to my professional growth as an educator because I improved my communication skills.

This will help me in my profession for conferences, courses, seminars, and workshops. While

coaching, I faced many obstacles to my growth as an educator. One of the obstacles I faced was

when I had to take charge of a group of girls and teach them something new. This reminded me if

I was getting ready to start a new lesson for a class. After working with the girls in groups, I can

improve on managing a controlled environment. This will help my classroom management.

Overall this experience has been great. I have learned so much about myself.

Throughout my experience in volunteering community service, I have made a positive

impact on my community. I have gained knowledge of what it takes to be a leader. Being a leader

is similar to being an educator in the classroom. I began my community service very timidly, and
in the end, I learned to be confident and trust myself. These are traits I need to succeed in

teaching. Overall, My experience in coaching was unforgettable. After this experience, I have

learned a lot about students and myself. This community service experience will help me grow as

an educator in this profession.