Three days a week, Ashley Schildtknecht arrives at campus by 6:30 a.m. By 6 p.m., she has attended classes at Ball State University and worked in Anderson. Instead of resting when she gets home, she cooks dinner for her husband and herself and spends the rest of the evening doing homework.
She says she wants to have time to volunteer at her church, Cornerstone Community Church in Alexandria, or take part in campus organizations. But school, work and family leave her no time.
Every week, Schildtknecht's grandfather spends six hours working on projects for the Knights of Columbus. When he's not volunteering for the Knights, he spends his time at church; it's second nature for a man who grew up in a time when civic organizations were one of the few opportunities to take part in the community and a sign of class standing.
The differences between these two reflect the drop in volunteerism caused by changes from the loss of a sense of community and the growth of individualism. According to a May 2004 survey by the Leon & Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy, the number of college students who volunteer dropped from 67 percent in 2002 to 53 percent in 2004.
SCHOOL AND WORK
Schildtknecht, a junior elementary education major, felt her family's influence early in life.
The 21-year-old was a Junior Girl Scout during elementary school, but her parents pushed her toward sports, such as swimming. None of them stuck.
"I'd do it for a couple of days, and then I was done," she said. "It wasn't so much I was tired, but I would try one and, even though I didn't like it, my parents would make me finish the season."
By the time she got to college, she had grown tired of being pressed into activities.
"Once I was old enough, I said this is what I like, and it's what I'm going to do," she said.
What she liked to do, and what she excelled at, was choir. She sang in three choirs -- including Anderson Area Youth Chorale -- in high school and took vocal lessons.
Ball State liked her talent so much that it asked her to join choir when she entered the university. However, as an education major, she was afraid she couldn't balance her schedule.
"I knew this was going to be very demanding," she said. "I'm not here for choir."
The time commitment wasn't the only thing keeping her from participating in school. Schildtknecht couldn't afford to live on campus, so she stayed at home with her family in Anderson.
Technology needs have also put a demand on Schildtknecht's wallet. As an education major, she has been pressed to get a laptop computer, but she says she doesn't have the $1,000 to $1,500 that one would cost.
To help pay for her education and other needs, Schildtknecht works three hours Monday through Friday at Anderson Christian School. She has struggled trying to balance her time between school, her job and helping to raise her 5-year-old brother, which she did until she got married last November.
"I always felt like, A, I can get more money or, B, I can do more school work," she said. "I was very confused."
When she wasn't working, she said, she would feel guilty if she put her brother in front of a TV while she did her homework.
Schildtknecht says she does wish she could be more involved in campus and at her church, which is a sense of duty she got from her grandparents.
COMMUNITY
Don Dennis, Schildtknecht's grandfather, grew up in a town of 200 people.
"If somebody was in trouble, we'd all go and help him," he said.
Because of his upbringing in the tight-knit community and the advantages he had as a child, Dennis has made an effort to give back to his own community, now Hartford City.
He started his participation in 1962 as a scoutmaster for Boy Scouts of America. Since then, he has joined the Elks and the Knights of Columbus. Dennis said he joined the groups because he wanted to give back to his community and give people the opportunities he had.
"I like to see everybody have a chance," he said.
Dennis also volunteers with his church and interacts with teenagers for about 15 to 20 hours a month.
"They like to be around you if you show an interest in them," Dennis said.
The groups also offered him a chance to socialize. Dennis grew up without a television, and his family had one car. Social and civic groups were the only option for most people, he said.
"My generation liked to join groups," he said.
THE SPLIT
The differences between Schildtknecht and her grandfather can be related to when they were born.
According to a 2002 survey by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, 40 percent of people ages 15 to 25 volunteer at least once a year, compared to 32 percent of baby boomers.
However, the same survey shows 22 percent of people in the 15-to-25 age group volunteer on a regular basis, versus 26 percent of baby boomers.
Daniel Stallings, director of Leadership and Service Learning at Ball State, said college students have individual interests that pull them away from structured groups.
"They're very issue driven," he said. "Because of that, they'll serve for passion issues for a short duration."
Sarah Jane Rehnborg, consultant for the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service at the University of Texas-Austin, said the volunteerism numbers for college students show that volunteering is important to them, but they need to be able to connect with the causes they volunteer for.
"I think there really is a lot of service, but it tends to be oriented to the organizations that connect with the issues you find important in your life," she said.
Schildtknecht sees children as her passion, and she likes to volunteer at her church during Sunday school because it allows her to work with them, she says.
Part of the reason for this disinterest in groups is that most college students have not grown up with the sense of community that Dennis had, where his neighbors would rush to help him if he had a problem, Stallings said.
People are also more focused on their families and children, instead of their communities, said David Williams, public relations and member relations director for Kiwanis International. As families moved to the suburbs, they became commuters. According to the Better Together report by the Saguaro Seminar, volunteerism drops 10 percent for every 10 minutes of commuting.
Schildtknecht spends 30 minutes traveling from Anderson to Ball State, which would amount to a 30 percent drop in her volunteering time.
"People just don't have the community roots they used to," Williams said.
This idea of individualism has trickled down to college students and how they participate in community activities, Rehnborg said.
"To them, it's check this one, check that one, move on," she said.
The change in priorities from community to personal life meant students grew up with their families and society expecting them to excel. Add to that a need for personal enjoyment. According to the Panetta Institute for Public Policy survey, 24 percent of college students ranked volunteering below financial success and having a good time on their lists of priorities.
The growth of television, computers, cell phones, video games and other new technologies provides students with ways to socialize and have fun outside of joining organizations.
For Dennis, the loss of community involvement is disheartening.
"It's sad to say, but the ones that want to do it will, and the ones that don't won't," he said. "They can find as many reasons as they can to help as they can to not help."
However, Schildtknecht said the pressure from her parents and society to succeed means she has to sacrifice time she would like to spend on campus or at church.
"If I could have found a way, I would have."
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