When Sydney Raley headed into her weekend shift on Saturday, December 18, she likely expected to do more of the same: Stand at the drive-through window, take orders over the headset, and hand each customer their meal with a smile.

In fact, that’s exactly how it started. Sydney Raley has been working at McDonald’s for about seven months and so far, it’s been her typical after-school job. The day had been mostly normal—making coffee, making drinks, and going into the lunch rush.

But a few hours into her, shift, things took a dramatic turn. After handing a customer some of their food, Sydney let them know that more would be coming as soon as it was ready. But just seconds later, she noticed a terrible look of panic spread across the woman’s face. Then came the coughing. She was coughing like crazy and was speechless. Her daughter was in the passenger seat and looked extremely confused and frightened.

Sydney immediately knew she was choking. The first aid training Sydney received more than four years ago hit her. Most 15-year-olds might panic at the sight of this. But not Sydney. Instead, the teen remained calm and quickly shouted to her manager to dial 911. Then, she came to the rescue.

The teen pushed the driver’s side door forcefully open and got the choking woman to her feet. Then she dug down deep into her memory bank to recall everything she learned. All that training of how to use the Heimlich maneuver (海姆利克氏急救法) immediately kicked in. Still, she had never actually had to use the life-saving technique before, and after a few tries, it wasn’t quite working. She shouted to a man for assistance. The man heard Sydney’s cry and rushed over. Sydney briefed him on the situation, and the man did not hesitate to help the woman. He used the same Heimlich maneuver, but harder than Sydney. And happily, it worked this time, after which the woman threw up the food stuck in her throat and began gasping for air, and she was saved.

It is a well accepted assumption that students come to colleges to get good grades and that they are usually too busy to do anything else.

But Connie Snyder Mick, an academic director of the Center for Social Concerns at the University of Notre Dame, says it is just half of the truth. There are many volunteering centers like hers at the colleges and universities in the United States. Mick says these centers help students seek an experience that may not be directly related to a student’s academic progress, but that is still important.

Volunteering is not uncommon in higher education. Many college groups organize volunteer events for different causes. Officials in charge of student housing often organize such events to help build a sense of community. Participation in these kinds of activities is good for students, Mick says. For example, the busy nature of college life can create a lot of stress for students. Doing something completely unrelated to a student's studies can help calm them by putting their mind on other things.

For a more meaningful addition to their college experience. Mick urges students to visit centers like the one she heads. She says these centers exist to create volunteer opportunities that are more complex and meaningful than just a day spent cleaning a local park or raising money, for example.

Such volunteering centers often partner with local organizations that serve the people of the nearby communities. Even for students with little interest in building a connection with the local communities, there is still value in what volunteer centers have to offer, Mick says. She notes some opportunities can push students to use what they are learning in the classroom out in the real world and having that kind of experience can make a student appealing to employers in the years to come.

Oceans hold a lot of mystery, even for people who study them. But it’s no mystery why they are in trouble. We’ve been using them to hide our waste—such as pouring oil, plastic, and poisonous chemicals into them for decades. We’ve over exploited (开采) many fish stocks to levels so low that they can no longer be harvested.

Oceans are also a primary source of protein for millions of people worldwide. If we want to continue to enjoy what oceans provide, we need to do everything we can to protect them and the life they support. We should ensure the seafood we eat is sustainable.

Of course, not everyone is lucky enough to be able to catch their own fish, which means having sustainable options in the store is critical. As the public’s and companies’ awareness about the risks caused by overfishing and uncontrolled sea farming expansion have grown, food tradesmen in Canada have developed sustainable seafood policies and commitments.

Seafood Progress, an online resource, is designed to help provide rewards for tradesmen and information for seafood lovers. It makes it easier for consumers in Canada to find out tradesmen’s policies on sourcing sustainable seafood, whether they’re sticking to those policies and how they are performing compared to other tradesmen.

But tradesmen must do more to ensure their seafood products are environmentally sustainable and socially responsible. This means expanding the range of their commitments to cover all seafood products they sell in all their stores. It also requires continuing to work with suppliers and producers to improve practices and make sure the sustainable seafood supply meets consumer demand.

It’s no mystery that if we want to continue to eat fish, we must do it responsibly. Seafood Progress has invited seafood tradesmen, suppliers and consumers to join in pushing to this goal.