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V for Volunteer(ing)—The Journeys of Undergraduate Volunteers

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Abstract

This article studies undergraduate students journeys in volunteering, and details the motivations of and challenges that these volunteers face during the journey. We conducted five focus groups on a total of 38 undergraduate volunteers, and obtained seven themes as we undertook an investigation of our three research questions. Our findings revolved around these seven themes, which ranged from motivations to experiences to challenges. Our findings have helped us understand the motivations and challenges that undergraduate volunteers have and face during the journey of volunteering. Some of these challenges are particular to a university setting, but some others can certainly be generalized to other settings. Recommendations for future research are also included.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Hilary Case, Jeb Berg, Todd Dunfield, and all the volunteers from Gonzaga University’s CCASL (Center for Community Action and Service-Learning). We would also like to acknowledge and thank our graduate assistants—Kaitlin Vadla, Tim Churchill, and Yasaswini Enjeti—who helped us in this project in various capacities.

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  1. Department of Organizational Leadership, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA, USA

    Aditya Simha, Lazarina N. Topuzova & Joseph F. Albert

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  1. Aditya Simha
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  2. Lazarina N. Topuzova
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Correspondence to Aditya Simha.

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Simha, A., Topuzova, L.N. & Albert, J.F. V for Volunteer(ing)—The Journeys of Undergraduate Volunteers. J Acad Ethics 9, 107–126 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-011-9136-1

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