Palisades High School and the Palisades-Malibu YMCA’s Center for Social Responsibility (Y-CSR) have banded together in an effort to develop ethical leaders of exemplary character.
Students are required to do 40 hours of community service before graduation, but for senior Irene Lim, 40 hours was just the beginning. To date, Lim has volunteered close to 700 hours at area non-profits.
Even at a young age, Lim loved to keep busy, whether it was doing homework, helping her mother with chores or her dad at work.
Since then, Lim has expanded her responsibilities considerably by joining the Lions Club and KIWIN’S. She has also volunteered for various non-profit organizations, including Ark School and Koreatown Youth and Community Center (KYCC), where she worked with underprivileged children.
Photo: Courtesy of Irene Lim
“My experience with Ark School was especially eye-opening,” Lim said. “The hours aren’t what made me so passionate about working with the kids. It was the smiles and gratitude.”
During the summer, Lim would volunteer as many as 30 hours at Ark School and while challenging at times, it was a lesson this young teacher won’t soon forget.
“When you spend so much time with young children, you learn to cope with the students who aren’t as attentive or cooperative,” she said. “Whether it was the simple hello or the first graders clinging on to me as I packed my bags to leave, working with these kids always made my day.”
The goal of the Y-CSR is to encourage students to embrace responsibility for their actions and to have a positive impact, through their activities, on the school, local community and the world.
Lim said the hands-on experience with underprivileged youth pushed her to realize how grateful she is for opportunities she has been offered by her family and her Palisades community.
“I don’t think many students realize the privileges they’ve lived with until they realize how hard some other families have it and, sometimes, volunteering is the only way to bring about that realization,” she said. “When students volunteer, whether helping at a community center or simply cleaning the beach, it unintentionally brings them into a humble state of mind which, I think, is something everyone should experience.”
Lim, who hopes to study biology at Syracuse University in the fall, believes the lessons learned from her volunteer work will be paramount in her college experience both in and outside of the classroom.
To her surprise, Lim said her volunteer work has fueled her passions and helped to guide her career path and aren’t likely to end with her high school graduation.
YMCA staff members work with students to help them find their passions through service learning; for many students, this results in life lessons that strengthen both character and college applications.
“Most of my volunteer work has unintentionally leaned towards my future profession. During my student internship at VCA Animal Hospital, I was fortunate enough to get the insights of surgery and learn how to care for animals,” she said.
Her volunteer work at the community centers also provided insight to working with children and ultimately understanding different ways of thinking. In retrospect, Lim said she learned to see past an individual’s shortcomings and to be patient in working to overcome them.
Photo: Courtesy of Irene Lim
“I also learned that there’s a lot more to being a leader than just demanding and expecting from others; you need to interact with your group and make an effort to get to know the individuals,” she said. “Everyone’s different in his or her own way and it’s up to me to find out how I can get them to trust me enough to open up. Once you pass that barrier, the outcomes are endless.”
Last year, students at Palisades High School students completed more than 95,000 hours of community service through more than 100 nonprofit organizations.
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