With senior projects slowly arriving, many seniors are trying to find an organization to volunteer with. Senior Emilia Hoppe is using previous volunteer connections with an organization to continue her work their during the project.

“I have helped out at the annual Sanneh Foundation Galas several times over the course of the past 6 years. In that experience, I got to hear leaders of the organization speak about their mission and the progress that they’ve made. I think that having the opportunity to see a display of the good works that the Sanneh Foundation has done definitely influenced my decision to volunteer there during my senior project,” Hoppe said.

For her senior project, Hoppe will volunteer with the after-school program.

“The Sanneh Foundation helps run the Conway Community Center in St. Paul where they provide free after-school care and dinner services. The program is a bit understaffed, so I will help keep the kids entertained and supervised,” Hoppe said.

Hoppe believes that there are benefits to volunteering with an organization she has already worked with.

“I have much deeper insight into the goals and impacts of this organization, as well as its general growth or evolution over the past couple of years,” Hoppe said.

Community service is important to Hoppe because she thinks that the small impacts she has in her community will eventually have larger positive repercussions.

“I’m extremely frustrated with the seemingly insurmountable system of inequality in our society–a system which I happen to reap many benefits from. As a 17-year-old, community service feels like a real, if small, way that I can start to help confront the issues of my community. I see it as a kind of gateway to greater change to come,” Hoppe said.

Hoppe also believes that service teaches her many valuable lessons, and lets her take clear actions to help her community.

“There are a lot of really great organizations in the local community doing fantastic things which help lots of people. I’ve always been taught that helping others is one of the most important and fulfilling things that a person can do. Community service is important in general because it allows us to take real action to protect the things which are important to us, give us a sense of direction and purpose, and have a real positive impact on the communities that we live in,” Hoppe said.