王可的社区服务经历

　　我敢肯定，你们中的一些人一定在想我们在高中的时候都做了哪些课外活动才获得了哈佛大学的录取呢？

　　首先，我认为我并没有抱着被哈佛录取的目的故意去选择参加的活动的。我选择了这些活动仅仅是因为我感兴趣并热爱去做它们。今天，我就从一件对我特别有意义的事情讲起。

　　从六年级起我就开始在我们社区志愿服务，高中的时候我仍然坚持这样做，当时是在我们当地的救济厨房工作，每个月一到两次。有一个周六，我大概下午4点到了救济厨房去帮忙做晚饭。我们一般是5到6个志愿者，一些是来自我的高中，还有一些就是普通的公民。厨房的桌子上堆着个人和小公司的捐赠品——从面包店来的蛋糕，从杂货店来的面包，从高中的食物捐助活动中来的罐头。我们查了一下可以用的材料并制定出了当晚的菜单。有一个晚上，我们有几麻袋的土豆和几箱子的绞好的细牛肉，所以我们就当场决定而且添加了香料、作料做出了一顿美味的炖肉。虽然我经常跟我妈妈一起做饭，可是在家为三个人做饭根本没法跟与其他五个人一起在救济厨房为150个人做饭相提并论！把晚饭放到一起，收拾桌子并且分配服务内容是需要团队合作和严密的逻辑的。所以在志愿服务的过程中我学到了很多很多。

　　晚饭是下午6点开始——面包，沙拉，主食，蔬菜和甜点。来吃饭的人绝大多数都很礼貌，也感谢我们准备的晚餐。我最喜欢的部分是离开服务区到就餐区去帮忙，因为我会有机会跟就餐的人聊聊天。社会上的一个普遍的认识是那些无家可归的人是懒惰的，并一手造成了现在的状况，可是一些到我们那里的就餐者却给了我相反的印象。我尤其记得跟一位中年的退役老兵聊天的情况。尽管他早年过着稳定的生活，可是失业和一系列的疾病导致了他暂时的无家可归。

　　我在救济厨房度过的时光不仅让我感觉更好地融入了我们当地的社区，而且发展并增强了我对居住在社区中的人们的同情与关心。我非常感激我在那里的经历，所以我整个高中都定期地在我的社区志愿服务。我相信在我的对顶级大学的申请中所表现的对于社区服务的坚持和奉献总体上展现了一个学生对于他的高中活动的长期而真心地投入。在这里所学到的是，做让你感兴趣的事然后坚持不懈地做下去！

　　索斐咨询--王可

　　Kate's community service experiences

　　I'm sure some of you are wondering - what kinds of extracurricular activities did I do in high school to gain admission to Harvard?

　　First of all, I did not intentionally pick activities with the motive of being admitted to Harvard. I chose my activities simply because I was interested in and passionate about them. Today, I will start with one that is particularly meaningful for me。

　　Having volunteered in my community since the 6th grade, I continued to do so in high school by working at our local soup kitchen [1]. Once or twice a month, on a Saturday, I arrived at the soup kitchen at around 4pm to help cook dinner. We were usually five to six volunteers, some from my high school, and some just your average citizens. The kitchen table was piled with donations from individuals and small businesses - cakes from a bakery, bread from a grocery store, cans from high school canned food drives [2]. We surveyed the ingredients available and planned out that night's menu. One evening, we had sacks of potatoes and containers of ground beef, so we improvised and made a delicious stew by throwing in some herbs and spices. Although I cooked regularly with my mother, cooking at home for three people was nothing like cooking with five other people in a soup kitchen for 150 people! Putting together the dinner, setting the tables, and splitting up serving roles required teamwork and tight logistics [3], so I learned a great deal during those volunteer sessions。

　　Dinner was served at 6pm - bread, salad, main course, vegetables, dessert. The diners were mostly very polite, and thanked us for making the dinner. My favorite part of the evening was leaving the serving counter to help out in the dining area, because it gave me an opportunity to talk to the diners. A common perception in society is that homeless people are lazy and responsible for their current situations, but meeting some of our diners gave me the opposite impression. I especially remember chatting with one middle-aged man who was a war veteran [4]. Although he had previously led a stable life, unemployment and a series of illnesses left him temporarily without a home。

　　The time I spent at the soup kitchen not only made me feel more integrated with my local community, but also developed and strengthened my sense of empathy and compassion for the people living in it. I appreciated my experience there so much that I continued to volunteer regularly in my community all throughout high school. I believe that my consistency and dedication towards community service showed in my application to top colleges, which generally appreciate a student's long-term and deep commitment towards their high school activities. The lesson here is to do what interests you, and stick to it!

　　Sophos Academic Group: Kate Wang