Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Zoë Segnitz is a senior at LGHS and is an experienced volunteer whose efforts have taken her from senior residences to homeless shelters.
Volunteering: It's a privilege
Los Gatos High School senior Zoë Segnitz has been volunteering since she was in the seventh grade. She is president of LGHS's Interact Club, a youth club sponsored by Los Gatos Rotary.
Segnitz began her volunteering at the Los Gatos Dog and Cat hospital. "I was thrilled when they showed me how to run blood tests," Segnitz says.
Over the past six years, she has volunteered for many organizations, including Emmanuel convalescent hospital, the Meadows, The Terraces and the San Jose Family Shelter. She says volunteering at the convalescent hospital turned out to be therapeutic for her because, at the time, "I was losing some important people in my life. It felt like grief counseling for me."
Segnitz volunteered for the Rotary's Santa Clause project. "We found seven of the most poverty-stricken families and gathered presents for them," she says. Three of the people were moved to tears. "One woman was so grateful that she got her Bible and read a chapter on charity to us."
Segnitz says people have to be generous to accept charity.
She says volunteering is really "a privilege and a ton of fun. You can realize your potential through volunteering."
Saratoga, California Since 1955
