My Experiences as a Volunteer in San Francisco

by Roman (Germany), CISL San Francisco student

RomanAfter three months in San Francisco it is time for me to go back home to my normal life. But before returning to Germany, I want to look back to an amazing summer in California. I started with a language course of four weeks at CISL in the Intensive Program and changed after two weeks to the Global Success Program to get prepared for my volunteer program. After a short interview, I got a acceptance to work at the American Red Cross (ARC). The ARC is a humanitarian organization, which helps people who are in a emergency or affected by a disaster and it is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. My job at the ARC was at the front desk of their San Francisco office. I had to answer a lot of phone calls, to greet guests and connect them to the person in charge, and to manage incoming and outgoing mail. So I got a lot of chances to talk to American people.

For the rest of the time, CISL gave me the opportunity to volunteer also in the school’s marketing department. This was a great chance for me to look behind the scenes and to see how the school finds out what their students need and how to attract new students. I also was able to contribute some articles to the blog and Facebook, where the school presents the impressions and experiences of their students.

For me, it was a great experience to work in two different places and to learn a lot of different things. While working at the ARC I improved my speaking and listening skills by answering phone calls and talking to a lot of different people. At CISL I could improve my writing skills by writing a lot of articles for their blog and the Facebook Site.

Now, after three months of school, volunteering and a lot of other experiences, I’m going back home to find a new job. Hopefully, my new experiences will help me in the German job market.