North Atlanta requires 75 hours of community service for graduation. It may seem like a lot of time, but students have all 4 years of their high school experience to finish. Many students are concerned about not having time in their busy schedules to volunteer, but is it actually meaningful? Why do we have the community service requirement?
After four years of attending North Atlanta, all the requirements to graduate seem dull. Senior Cameron Louie doesn’t view it that way. Reflecting on his years at NAHS, he appreciated the service requirement and saw it as a meaningful experience. “I definitely think it’s meaningful, just because you’re giving back,” Louie said.
With lots of homework, jobs, and family time, many students find it hard to fit volunteering into their schedules. While it’s meaningful to help others, volunteer hours aren’t something that colleges necessarily look for over sports and clubs. With her transition to North Atlanta High School, Freshman Kennedi Sanders only partially agrees with the volunteer requirement. Sanders feels like it isn’t hard to find opportunities, but she has other focuses. “I think they should go down to 50 because most high school students are doing other things,” Sanders said.
Since August 2024, North Atlanta High School has been using the Tiersphere platform to log volunteer hours. As of September 16, students can’t log their own hours anymore-they have to be logged directly from the organizations leading the activities. The platform change was made to relieve stress from the school counselors since they had to spend time helping students log their hours. With the new changes, counselors have time to help students in other ways.
Volunteering gives students the opportunity to connect with their communities, help those in need, and get meaningful experiences outside of school. While volunteering might feel like just another requirement to some students, to others, it feels good to help those in need. In the end, the volunteer requirement isn’t just about graduation requirements, it’s about students helping and connecting with their communities.
