Because many have waited until the last minute to begin, many Columbus School 12th graders are under tremendous pressure to complete the mandatory social service hours required to graduate.

Students are scrambling because they often leave the 80 hours of community service by the school and Colombian law, for graduation until their last few months of high school. The intention of the program is that students experience the benefits of social service over a longer period of time in order to incorporate service in their lives.

“The law and school states that 11th and 12th graders should complete a total of 80 hours during this two years,” Andres Rendon, High School Counselor, said.

Even though there are various options that students can use to complete their hours, some of them have not started for reasons ranging from laziness or lack of time.

“I have not started my social service hours. I am very behind. I haven’t done any social service hours because first of all it is not my priority, because I am lazy, and because I keep forgetting,” Tomas Medina, 11th grader, said.

Since 11th grade and 12th grade goes by very fast due to all the activities and academic requirements, students should prioritize social service more since there is not a lot of time left of.

“I should start getting my things together and start thinking about the options that I have so that I can complete the 80 hours and not leave them for the last months of my senior year,”  Medina said.

The Columbus School Foundation provides many opportunities for students to complete their social service hours. It offers many programs after school, including Columbus Heart.

“The school has many options for social service where students can attend to, the first place where students can go is the Columbus School Foundation. The school foundation has several programs with Columbus Heart, where students can participate and help,” Rendon said.

Another option is TECHO, an organization that has been active for about 10 years in Colombia where students can help build emergency temporary housing for the less fortunate. The school works with TECHO that students can help the more vulnerable people and still get some hours.

“On February 11th I attended TECHO. Our job was to survey the population to determine their living conditions; this gave me the opportunity to help the less fortunate and receive hours of social service,” Valentina Agudelo, 11th grader, said.