Community service

When I was told I had to do ten hours of community service, I was excited. My goal in life is to make a living as an audio technician. So for the past year I have been volunteering at the First United Methodist Church in El Dorado, KS as a visual and audio technician.

Looking for an opportunity where not only could I keep developing my skills as an audio technician, but also make a similar contribution Atwood’s community wasn’t very hard. The volunteering opportunities are everywhere in town. Different members of any community are always looking for help. While working on my talent show project I noticed that until the equipment for the 4^th of July Atwood Lake Talent Show was set up at 5p.m. that there wasn’t going to be any music playing. There are many events that happen at the lake throughout the day besides the talent show. There is an all-day volleyball tournament, bike races, rides for children, picnics, and other fun activities. Activities that are more fun when ACDC’s “Thunderstruck” is playing in the background. So at 7:30 a.m. on July 4^th I gathered my speakers, stereo, mixers, music, anything a DJ might need and went to the Atwood Lake Gazebo. At 8 everything was set up and I played music all day.

The hardest part was to keep the music going. The music that I had wasn’t enough but a kind person gladly lent use of their Amazon Prime account (it’s an amazing source of music). The music was awesome, but then the challenge became transitioning from internet to cd when the internet was having issues.

It was so much fun though. Getting to watch friends play volleyball, announcing events, playing great music. I really felt a part of the community then.

The next challenge was picking what to do for my tenth hour of community service. 8a.m. to 5p.m. is only nine hours total. I picked something outside my comfort zone. Assisting judges for the 4H Fair. I haven’t been a part of 4H since age 7 (I want to say). My supervisor knew this and gave me a fairly easy but still an important job. I was helping at one table passing ribbons collecting paperwork for the projects that students made. There were great works on that table from children that were between the ages of ten and fifteen. Model rockets, clocks, bird houses, and other projects. The main subject of judging the projects was craftsmen ship from texture to color he judge every detail. I didn’t expect to see this much art at this fair, but it’s nice to be wrong.

The community service was fun. I was able to learn, see different things, and help my town. Its well worth the time and effort. I hope I’ll look for more opportunities like this after the internship.