The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Colleen H. during the 2007-2008 League.
Volunteering for a Political Action Committee - Citizens for Traditional Values
The Political Action Committee that I chose to work with was Citizens for Traditional Values. Since they work in the same office at SSI, this is a very comfortable, relaxed, fun atmosphere. Helping out at CTV has taught me a lot about diligence, doing things thoroughly, being humble, and most importantly, doing everything as if you are doing it for God.
The definition of diligence is: "constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken." This does not mean that you can start something, work on it for five minutes, then come back to it an hour later and expect to do a good job with it. Working diligently means starting a job with enthusiasm, and working consistently at it until you finish it with the same amount of effort as you began with.
While you're doing different jobs, it is also very important to do them thoroughly. If you don't do a complete job, there is no point in doing it at all, for you are just creating a mess for someone to have to come up after you and finish it. When I was at CTV, I spent a lot of time grading and assessing questionnaires that came in from different state house candidates. It was very easy to, after I graded them, just set them in a pile instead of filing them away where they go. But then I found that if I just filed each one as soon as I was done, it made the whole process go a lot faster.
Working at Citizens for Traditional Values definitely taught me a lesson in humility. Before I started there, I liked to think that I knew everything. Well, maybe not everything, but I considered myself a smart person. When I began, I immediately realized that this was something that I did NOT know very much about. I learned very quickly that it is okay to ask for help when you don't know something. If you really care about the quality of work that you are doing, asking for a little instruction will help you do the best work possible.
1 Corinthians 10:31 - "Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." I found this verse to really encourage me during my time at CTV. I often found myself thinking that what I was doing really didn't matter that much - that my work was insignificant. And yes, maybe I don't exactly get jobs that decide the fate of the world, but that should not affect the quality of work that we do. Just as that verse says, we need to always be living and working for God's glory. Just because we may not feel that we are doing something important, our work always needs to be a witness for Christ.
Helping out at CTV has taught me a lot about diligence, doing things thoroughly, being humble, and most importantly, doing everything as if you are doing it for God. This is truly an experience that has taught me a lot. I am so thankful to have the opportunity to work with such a great organization.
