***This blog post was originally written for Medical Readhead, a brand for pre-medical students. If you are interested a career in the healthcare industry, check out her site for more tips and tricks on pursuing med school and your dream job!
Volunteering in an outreach program is the foundation for the “experience section” of any application – whether it’s for school, jobs, scholarships, awards, or anything else you’re applying to. Colleges, universities, companies, and awards committees love to see how you donated your time to better yourself and your community. Unfortunately, volunteering opportunities tend to get overshadowed by school and work commitments, which can ultimately leave your applications lacking.
Starting your own outreach program can be a large time commitment, but doing so gives you the flexibility to decide what events you want to run, how much time you’re willing to put into it, and more. While I was in my undergrad, I started a K12 STEM outreach program at my local community library. This program gave me a platform to hone my leadership skills, work with other engineers, and gain valuable experiences all while positively impacting my community. In the countless hours of running this outreach program and volunteering in many more, I found that anyone can start an outreach program in 5 easy steps.
Continue reading “How to Launch an Outreach Program in 5 Steps”