"To serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy and a whole heart and a free mind"

KIPP Leadership Primary - February 21st, 2013 - 2 hours 15 minutes
Habitat for Humanity - February 23rd, 2013 - 7 hours

 

The title of this post, a quote from the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winner Pearl S. Buck, perfectly captures what I think service is all about: what it requires from an individual, and in turn what it can do for that individual. To start off, I think it definitely takes a certain level of excitement and joy in order to wake up earlier than normal to hop on a bus and find one's way to a volunteer site. But somehow it is always worth it. Last Friday Alex and I made our journey to KIPP Leadership Primary to volunteer for the first time. Paul was also there and we joined him in updating the mathematics and reading achievement boards for the 1st grade. Each student in every class takes a national exam to see where he/she falls in terms of their level of achievement compared to other students in the same grade from around the nation. We were previously informed that the students then take periodic tests on similar material to see how they are progressing. Every student has a slip of paper with their initial score printed on it. It was our job to move these students up (or down) on the board based on their new scores. This was the first time this year that the boards have been updated, and all of the teachers and administrators would come peak over our shoulders to see how the students were progressing.

 

After figuring out the logistics of it (keeping track of who did and did not have a score, who did and did not have a slip of paper on the board), it was really exciting to personally move a student up anywhere from 5 to 20 points! It was amazing to see the gains that the majority of the students made, and although I don't know any of them, it brightened my day to know that there are individuals who are committed to helping students get ready for college starting in kindergarten! A few kiddos fell back a few spots, but this is definitely a useful tool for teachers to focus on who may need extra attention in the future.

 

These are achievement boards we updated.
There are 4 classes per grade and around
25 students per class.

I think Ms. Buck also had it right when she said service is best when done with a whole heart; sometimes the tasks one is doing require love and positivity. After finishing up the boards, I was assigned to walk around the school and wipe down all of the nap-mats with bleach wipes. Wiping mats may not be fun under normal circumstances, and my knees sure hurt by the end of it, but a whole heart made it all doable. It was definitely a necessary task, especially during this flu season, and it was nice knowing that the children would have clean mats to nap on in the very near future. Paul was also in the vicinity so we were able to chat during this, and every once-in-awhile, a little student would come ask me what I was doing or just stare from behind a corner. Those are definitely the best moments :) I also had one 1st grader inform me that I was folding the mats incorrectly; she showed me the proper way and came and checked up on me a few minutes later.

 

Along with joy and a whole heart, a free mind is sometimes the most important trait to maintain when volunteering. I think when life becomes stressful (as in you have 3 exams in a month, job applications, and the overlooming stressor of a pharmacology shelf exam), it can become easy to opt out of volunteering or other "unnecessary" tasks. It is easy to say that you have too much on your plate; really all it takes is a bit more organization and a little less stressing to make it all fit. This month has been absurdly hectic, so I definitely went into volunteering with Habitat as an excuse to clear my head. A free mind is necessary both to really relax and engage in the work, but also to commit to doing a good job. 

This is just a picture of the walk to the Habitat
site in the 9th ward.

About 8 of us from the program volunteered this past Saturday at a wheelchair accessible home in the Upper 9th Ward. It was my first experience going to the neighborhood, and it was interesting to see how it isn't all that different from the other ones around the city. Perhaps the biggest difference was the number of abandoned buildings and homes. Anyhoo, it turned out to be just the 8 of us volunteering with some AmeriCorps volunteers (a few we all knew and a few new ones). All of us were assigned to the task of "working on the ramp;" unlike all the other houses we have worked on, this house was specifically for someone in a wheelchair. The main posts had been set for the ramp, but none of the wood planks had been put in, and many of the supports were missing. For me, the day involved everything from digging out space for support beams, to nailing them in; from cutting wood for the planks, to installing those with screws; from taking out a fence, to moving dirt. It was rewarding hopping around and helping out in any way possible. The constant focus on making sure I wasn't either falling in mud or hammering my own hand made it a perfect opportunity to think about something tangible, non-academic and completely out of my norm. I am definitely looking forward to volunteering more in these next two months, both as a study-break and to find some peace. 

On a similar note: I am currently interviewing for a position with the City Year Corps here in New Orleans :) My initial interview consisted of a lot of questions that probed at my motivations to become involved with a year-of-service position, and I think this quote does a good job of capturing why I want this position (or something similar). I think when you can master volunteering with these traits, you can truly open yourself up to new experiences, and to making a positive difference through any means possible. I also have to give a shout-out to this whole "E-portfolio" requirement; I definitely mentioned that it was a way for me to keep sight of my motives and reflect on my work, and it truly is. (So thanks Dr. Clarkson!)