Student finds personal growth through service to others
Senior Sam Schlegel was not always excited about opportunities to perform community service. While his family regularly helped with service projects at Ascension Church, Sam’s role as a child was limited to things like carrying around items for the parish’s Giving Tree project. His outlook started to change once he saw his older siblings Anna ’14, Nicholas ’15, and Maria ’18 performing their own inspired, not required, service projects as Carroll High School students.
“At first, I thought it was really boring and not much fun. Then, I noticed that they were enjoying it, so I figured if I tried it, I would enjoy it a bit more,” Schlegel says. “Also, it felt better spiritually when
I was doing service. There’s always a God instance that you can feel and see God through your service if you reflect and pay attention to what you’re doing with your service projects.”
Sam’s reserved demeanor led him to seek projects where he was indirectly helping others away from the spotlight. He has written letters to members of the United States military stationed overseas and helped raise future service dogs this past summer at 4 Paws for Ability as part of Carroll’s Faith in Action course. When he adds it all up, Sam has performed nearly 600 hours of community service as a Carroll student with one semester left as a Patriot.
“At Carroll, there are so many opportunities to get involved. There’s probably a one-hour service project that everyone can do every day. Some are just packing a truck with clothes and toys to be sent somewhere, and some are going to the House of Bread or tutoring younger students. It really doesn’t feel like [that many] hours. Doing service is something I enjoy, and time flies when you’re having fun.”