This fall marks the beginning of Service in Action’s fifth year in, well, action. Lead by Psychology teacher Shannon Phillips, the class guides students who want to make an impact on the world around them to create a strong environment for youth empowerment. 

Regardless of age, people have opinions and different aspects of life that they feel can be improved on. And in the modern world that we live in, almost everyone knows there are definitely some things that need to change. 

However, the majority of students feel as though they have no opportunities to make an impact on the world, and many are frustrated because there is nothing more suffocating than the feeling of your voice being ignored.

Realizing this, Phillips designed the Service in Action curriculum to satisfy this feeling.

“[Service in Action is] a class where students get to discover what they feel passionate about and then they get to plan projects based on those passions,” Phillips said.

According to Phillips and other students participating in the class, different groups are formed based on these different interests, with students focusing in on modern topics they want to address such as poverty, gender issues, celebration of individuality, and environmental awareness.

Although the class has big plans, there have been fewer and fewer students enrolling when the class should be evolving. Phillips explains that recent years have only had enough students to fill a single semester; whereas, there were more than enough to fill separate semesters through the year when the class first began half a decade ago.

As such, a few things hold students back from joining. While some may just not have the passion for activism, other students point out that their high school schedule is already filled for all four years before they find out what Service in Action is all about. Others mention that the class has no honors credit available. 

Furthermore, the class has only recently opened to juniors, still being locked to the underclassmen due to the class requiring students to meet outside the classroom for blended days.

Even still, the class has still accumulated a great number of achievements since the start of the year, such as their helping with the Feed My Starving Children organization as a class or future planning for this year’s collection to help Jose. 

Overall, the Service in Action class has made already made great strides in giving students a voice through activism, and their future plans are definitely something to look forward to.