Volunteering's good feeling can surpass any status

By John
I was looking for some experience to help me in my application for a doctorate in Clinical Psychology, so I went to the Careers Service at our student's union. They suggested I contact HUSSO (a volunteering charity linked to Hull University).

I went to see the Chair at the time, Deborah, and she advised me that some of the executive trustee positions were becoming available. I was very excited at working with the older people, as I tend to socialise mostly with older people anyway (e.g. at chess club)! I also thought I could be experienced in dealing with the frailty of some of our participants, especially the cognitive disorders, as I am a student psychologist and I had helped to care for my grandmother when she developed a dementia. Eventually, I was taken in as Older People's Area Co-ordinator.

In all honesty, although I liked the idea of helping out the elderly, my motivations for taking on the job were, initially, career-based, i.e. that doing the job would make me a more attractive choice for an NHS placement and the Phd.

This morning, I got a letter to say that my application for the Phd had been turned down. However, I feel that this is unimportant. I have learned that volunteering is its own reward and that helping others is a way to make yourself better. Without any qualifications or status symbols or money, or positions of importance, you can say, "I'm better than most", because you know that you fulfil a service that makes other people feel better and that makes everything seem right.