Finding a community service organization was more difficult than a Google search. We needed to make use of Baruch College’s database and subscriptions to generate batches of community service organizations that met our criterion. Although helpful, the databases generated hundreds of results. What Google would never have been able to help us with is the evaluation of the types of services: how the experience was, types of people whom the particular service would cater better to, and the impact the service had on the parties involved. For this information, we turned to our peers and peer mentor, Maria, to gather some insight of the types of services they’ve performed and their reactions to them. Having been involved in numerous community service groups myself, I had a general understanding of almost every type of community service we found on the databases and was able to critique the service to help the group decide on which one to join.
This experience, overall, has been an enlightening and productive one. Hearing others talk about their views towards particular services showed me how much community services have affected and influenced them. Although I have yet to join a club full time, hearing them speak about community service makes me want to start being involved in it once again. Now, however, I can make use of the databases in finding and joining one of my choice as opposed to one that a particular club/organization may want to be involved in. By using databases, I became better associated with how they work as well as which ones to use. The many resources in the library amaze me. I hope that by doing more things like seeking out community service centers and looking for information, I can gain more in the years to come.
