I had done a lot of volunteering work in high school, most of it so that I could get into then remain in honor societies. This kind of mindless punching of volunteer hours tainted my view of the whole thing; having community service as a meritocracy undermined to whole idea of helping others simply because it’s the right thing to do. With this prior perception of volunteering, I went into this seminar hoping that it could answer the question posed as the event’s title: what’s the point? Certainly the point wasn’t so that students could have something nice to put on their resume, whether it be the volunteering itself or the organizations that allowed them to join. The exercise that stuck out to me was the one where each of us wrote on the board what the concept of “giving back” and giving forward” meant. It seemed that the concept of volunteering as “giving back” was led by a love of the community; giving back to the place you were raised so that others might have similar opportunities that you did. The reasons for giving forward were a little more varied. They ranged from inspiring others to do the same (pay it forward) to a desiring to see a change in the world. Giving back is more about gratitude for the past, and giving forward is about giving hope for the future.