When a student wants to attend Cathedral Prep or Villa Maria Academy, one requirement is each person needs at least 100 hours of service to graduate. Throughout the school year each student is required to serve 25 hours, and five of those hours have to be for a certain cause. Each class is different. For seniors this year, students needed five service hours going towards the elderly or sick. Others may include helping the homeless or children.

Service hours aren’t to just take up one’s time on a Saturday, but it’s supposed to teach students about what’s really out there. Many people have it much worse than us, and our mission is to help all those in need.

Service opportunities are presented to the students throughout the school year. Helping participate in events and helping the ones who need it most make you feel better about yourself. In life now you look on social media and you see what life could be like. But if you go out and make an effort to help those in need, you see what they deal with and it really opens your eyes. It shows how blessed we are to be able to help people rather than be helped.

Senior Theology teacher Mrs. Slaby gave her perspective on service hours. “I think it’s a wonderful thing that we do here at Prep,” she said. “To live out the seven themes of the Catholic Social Teaching while being with your friends and having fun is really great thing.” 

Senior Armani Moore said, “The hours are beneficial. Like yeah, you don’t ever want to really do them, but once you do them you feel good. You feel like your really made someone’s day.”

Service hours provide great experiences for students at Prep and Villa, while continuing to help out and make a difference in the world.