Written by Alyssa Downey
I have always understood the importance of volunteering and supporting others. Volunteering has been such a big part of my life through altar serving at my local parish as a kid, mentoring primary school students in mathematics, and always being so keen to help the local toy library at their Bunnings barbecues. I understand volunteering to be valuable because it isn’t about the money; it’s about the people and communities you help along the way.
My understanding of the value of volunteering has been emphasised throughout my education as a social work student. Many services and community organisations don’t receive enough funding to adequately support their service users, which results in their fundamental needs being unmet. Rural communities heavily rely on volunteers due to limited access to services, resources and support.
Volunteering increases community connection through a set of shared beliefs, values, and a passion for helping people. Volunteering is valuable as you get to support people first-hand and watch their confidence and independence further develop through your volunteering support and guidance.
Uni Foundations is a four-week program delivered online to new students at the beginning of every session. The program is developed by the Careers and Skills Hub and delivered by volunteer student mentors who draw on their own experiences and challenges as Charles Sturt students. The program aims to engage new students with available support services, develop their fundamental knowledge of the university’s software systems, and aid students in further developing their personal skills in time management and planning.
I applied to be a Uni Foundations student mentor for Session 1 in 2026. I had never heard of the program before and remembered how lost I felt in my first session of university. I was nervous about being a student mentor, especially because I had never participated in the program before. Those nerves quickly disappeared when I was met with such encouraging support from the Careers and Skills Hub team. They checked in with me before every mentoring session, helped me troubleshoot any tech issues, and made sure I was okay. They also checked in after my mentoring sessions, delivered weekly training, and then helped me add this experience to my resume after the program finished.
This volunteer mentoring experience then led to a job opening in the Careers and Skills Hub as a Student Mentoring Assistant.
In this role, and due to my previous experience as a volunteer, I have been able to further develop the program for the mutual benefit of our mentees and mentors. The mentees are being provided with a wider range of information and our mentors have easier access to resources that make their volunteering experience even easier. I will continue to search for opportunities to give back to my community through volunteering, and I encourage you to do the same, as connecting with the community is a very valuable experience.
For more information about mentoring at Charles Sturt, please visit: https://www.csu.edu.au/current-students/studying/support/mentoring-program
Charlie blog is a SSAF initiative.
