Giving Back to My Community Through Education

¶ … Community Through Education

Education is, perhaps, the greatest gift one can receive. Through education, and the knowledge garnered through this education, all doors are open. There become limitless possibilities to one's future. Success is simply at the taking, for those who willingly receive the gift of education, and then put their newfound skills to use. However, it is through giving back to my community, through education, that I will truly be successful.

Success, when it's defined in financial terms, is definitely a benefit of education. Several studies have been performed that show that higher education equates to higher earnings throughout one's lifetime ("CALS," 2001; Geary, 2003; "Going back," 2004; Ruhls, n.d.). In fact, "according to the Census Bureau, over an adult's working life, high school graduates earn an average of $1.2 million; associate's degree holders earn about $1.6 million; and bachelor's degree holders earn about $2.1 million" (Day and Newburger, 2002). Yet, financial rewards are not what life is truly about.

Being able to help others and bettering society, starting with my own community, is a much more valuable benefit of education. Through education, I can give back to my community. Certainly, some of this will occur monetarily. As with a higher education, and therefore a predictably higher income level, I will be able to donate more monetary resources to community programs. However, stewardship to one's community comes in three forms: time, talent and treasure. And, although treasure is an important aspect, time and talent are two-thirds of the equation.

With a higher education, my talents will be enhanced. I will then be able to use these abilities in ways that will be able to help my community, and even larger society. Investing my time and talent into charitable organizations will further the social and economic causes they seek to assist, and by expanding my education, I will be an even more valuable asset to these organizations. Further educating my community members is one such activity that will continue to reap rewards for generations to come, as these members are better able to also serve the community at large.