[ACT Slideshow 1] 

Community Relationships
Volunteers make friends and contacts in Northfield, and many Volunteers appreciate spending time off campus. It's a great way to break the "Carleton Bubble", and have fun doing it!

Satisfaction of Successful Service
Service with ACT enriches the lives of Volunteers and shows them that it's easy to make a difference.

Learn about the World - and Yourself
It's easy to live within the Bubble at Carleton, but Volunteers' interactions with people in the community provide much better understanding of the real world than any coursework can give you. Also, Volunteers learn about their own interests and skills - and expand them too!

Leadership Experience
ACT Program Directors and Student Coordinators gain valuable leadership experience in a real-world setting - employers love seeing that on your resume!

Real-World Experience
Even if you're not a PD or SC, Volunteers gain great resume-building experience. Many Carls use their ACT volunteer experience to get a job or even launch a career after Carleton.

Check out our Service at Carleton and Beyond page for information on possible internships, grants and organizations that work with ACT.

How have Alums used ACT Experience?

Lauren Blacik '09 uses her experiences with Kids for Conservation and the Food Shelf to enrich her current position at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico.
-"My term of experience with Kids for Conservation gave me practice with environmental education, which is now a major part of my job as a park guide at Chaco Culture National Historical Park.  Recently I've found myself drawing on the training [I received as] a Food Shelf PD to help new employees reflect on the work we're doing."

Katie Newell '03 was an ACT Student Coordinator, and then went to work for the Fund for Public Interest Research. After finishing law school, she went on to work at Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid where she represents low-income clients.
- "My participation with ACT taught me a lot about organizing at the grassroots level, and helped sustain my commitment to social justice while I was at Carleton. ACT is at the heart of Carleton's commitment to community outreach and deserves its full measure of support."

Ariel VandeVoorde '09 graduated from her position as an ACT Student Coordinator and is currently working with a private firm called the Chicago Conservation Center.  This organization restores and maintains public works of art in order to ensure that they are accessible to future generations.
-"Through my past work at ACT, I have the capacity to appreciate how important the work we do here is for Chicago communities and communities across the nation."