Abstract

A new generation of college students, called the Millennial generation, is entering institutions of higher education and may play a significant role in the future of public service in American society. The purpose of this study was to explore the motivation of a small sample of Millennial undergraduate students who participated in co-curricular community service at a four-year, research intensive, public institution.

This exploratory study took a qualitative approach. A questionnaire and two personal interviews focused the data collection on understanding what motivates undergraduate students to become involved in co-curricular community service. Two groups of Millennial undergraduate, junior standing students were examined. One group had minimal co-curricular community service experience, one semester or less and 10-30 hours of involvement, and the second group had extensive co-curricular community service experience, three semesters or more and 150 or more hours of involvement.

Using a conceptual framework that identified volunteer motivational categories associated with established motivational theories, this study found that the majority of students described egoistic motivation to provide co-curricular community service. Three findings emerged that enhanced the definition of egoistic motivation: a) motivation gained from providing service related to chosen career path, b) enjoyment gained from service, and c) service as a way to "escape" being a college student. One finding emerged from the data that enhanced the definition of social obligatory motivation. This finding revealed that students were motivated to "give back" to community organizations that related to prior personal experiences that left an impression on them.

Two findings revealed commonalities and two findings distinguished minimally and highly involved students in this study. The two findings that revealed commonalities were the motivation gained from the enjoyment received from providing service and service related to prior personal experiences that left an impression. The two findings that distinguished the two groups were highly involved students participated in co-curricular community service that related to their chosen career path more than minimally involved students; and three highly involved students described participation in community service to "escape" the stress of being a college student where no minimally involved students described this type of motivation. Results of this exploratory study suggest differences between minimally involved and highly involved students that deserve further study in the future.