Contributed by. Zohra Chahal, Service‐Learning student in Child Intervention and Treatment

As a Behavioral Neuroscience (BNS) major, I would never have imagined that a key turning point in my academic career would have come during the second semester of my senior year in a Human Services course.

When I registered for Child Intervention and Treatment this past semester, I was simply using it as a potentially interesting, filler elective that would bring me one step closer to graduation. In fact, I didn’t even know I was signing up for a service-learning class (and even if someone had described the course that way, I wouldn’t have even known what that meant!) Before I knew it, I was assigned the United South End Settlements (USES) as my community partner and I was told that I would be required to volunteer 3 hours every week as part of my course requirements.

While at first the thought of doing so much work outside of the classroom seemed like too much of a commitment during my senior year, I found that working at the Children’s Art Centre at USES was something I actually looked forward to each week. In fact, those 3- and 4-year olds would think of art class as the highlight of their day too! Every week they were given a range of activities to participate in: they could use sensory tables filled with water, or rice, or soil to explore various topics they were learning in class; dabble in some free-style painting; make things out of clay and paint their works after they had dried; or even just reading part of the book collection while pretending to be the class teacher.

As is true with life, there were good days and then there were tougher days for the kids at USES. With a broad range of socioeconomic classes represented among the student population, there was quite a bit of variation in each child’s home life – some days, this would be more evident than others. Kids might have a meltdown. Kids might not be able to follow directions as easily one week. And with each week that passed, I began to understand how factors (e.g. poverty and trauma) beyond their control could adversely affect these mini-humans.

Professor Emily Mann was the one who instilled me with hope with just one word: prevention. As the foundation for the entire semester’s material, we learned how things can go wrong and how we can work towards preventing them. In fact, one of the most detailed topics we covered was the primacy of early childhood education (ECE): preschool and programs such as Head Start are essential for optimal cognitive and emotional development. ECE can also aid in the development of character that can help bolster children for the future by equipping them with tools that will help them succeed personally and academically.

Although the semester is over and I have already had my last week at the Children’s Art Centre, I will always remember the kids that showed me the power of preschool. Witnessing those young minds in action, sucking up all of the life lessons USES provided them with in the setting of a classroom, I look forward to the future. With prevention in mind, I continue my journey of education beyond Northeastern in the hopes of helping future generations succeed in spite of their life circumstances.

My heart was racing. I was so nervous. Questions like “will they like me,” “can I do the job right,” and “what if I mess up,” flashed through my head. I had worked with children many times before, but this was different. This was Jumpstart. If I slipped up or fell short, there would be no one but myself to correct my mistake. If I could not succeed in my task, if the mistake could not be corrected, the children would be the only ones to suffer any losses. Still, walking to the school for the first time, I could only think selfishly about myself.

As ridiculous as that was, it actually helped me remember my role and its purpose. If the kids did not like me, it would be much harder to ensure that they absorb and understand every lesson we have to share with them. The mission would be incomplete and all I could think of was a terrible slippery slope. If I failed, one more child would be at risk for falling victim to the achievement gap and its later consequences and blocked opportunities. Then, if I were to mess up, at a loss for how to return to the child, I would obsess over the mistake, instead of thinking of an appropriate solution.

Then, something perfect happened, something that forced me to refocus and recharge. As I nervously continued on my path, I heard excited screams. “Jumpstart! Jumpstart!” I looked around to find the source and identified it as a bus filled with waving children (not from my preschool). I became filled with pride and fervor. I recognized the strength of the ripple effect. Every lesson taught to these children influences their decisions, actions, and treatment of others.  This changes the choices of others they encounter and so on and so forth. Each moment and lesson shared changes and improves the quality of their futures. With every second holding great importance and opportunity, I rushed to the school to meet some really cute future ripples.

Now that I have spent a good amount of time with the children, I can see the lessons taking hold and making an impact even beyond the children themselves. I was telling one of the parents that her daughter was so interested and excited by reading books. The mother told me that she was so happy to hear that, but that she had only just started reading with her child at home as well. Her own parents had never read to her when she was a child and it scared her to try reading to her own daughter. However, when her daughter came home from Jumpstart sessions so excited to continue reading, she could not help but encourage her and join in.

All I have ever wanted to do with my life was make some sort of difference to the world for the better. Jumpstart has given me ample opportunity. Jumpstart prepared me to equip these deserving children with the tools that will give them confidence to start a task, guide them if they falter, and help them succeed.

 - Alexandra Schenkler, Jumpstart Corps member.

This month’s blog post is brought to you by Genea Foster, Mass Promise Fellow at the Northeastern Marine Science Center. Enjoy!

The one thing everyone at MPF knows about me is absolute love for all things science and the environment. Science isn’t the hottest topic amongst young girls, so I really take pride in running one of the few STEM programs at Girls Inc. of Lynn, with Beach Sister being the only STEM program for teens.

I’ve found that learning and teaching about science is a two-way street. I provide content to teach elementary school, middle school, and high school girls about environmental concepts ranging from Adaptations for Life on the Rocky Shore to Community Asset Mapping of Lynn. In the other direction, the girls themselves teach me about best practices keeping them engaged and interested. They tell me that science at Girls Inc. works for them when they are allowed the freedom to be explorers, to learn through doing and discussing. During their out of school time at Girls Inc. they are allowed to escape the structures that keep science uninteresting and abstract.

The performance measure that my program falls under is “Safe Place.” Recently, I have been reflecting on what this really means for my youth. It goes beyond meaning that they have a safe place to go to after school. It means that they have a safe place to engage in healthy risk taking and exploration without some of the pressures that they may face in school or at home. Pressures like the boy in class saying, “Girls aren’t supposed to get their hands dirty” or an adult at home saying, “Be a nurse, that’s good science.” Girls Inc. with their mission of “inspiring girls to be smart, strong, and bold” allows for the girls to explore and develop new interests without pressure.

Another thing I’ve been reflecting on recently is my specific impact on the youth I serve. Although, I have burning love for science and the environment, I have to accept that not all of my youth join with me in sharing that love. My impact is exposing my youth to a field they may have been intimidated by, a field they may not have much familiarity with, a field they may not have realized was so important to society and humanity. I realize my impact when I see repeat visitors to my informal time activities each week. I realize my impact when I see my teen peer leaders share in smile and laughter during our trainings. Beach Sister participants may not go on to be scientists or environmentalists, but they will all grow as critical thinkers and conscious citizens.

Eliana Field is a 5th year Physical Therapy major who serves as a CEP Peer Mentor Co-Coordinator. Below is Eliana’s story of her development as a community volunteer in NU’s Cvic Engagement Program

As I reflect on the differences between my freshmen self, intimidated by the notion of completing 100 hours of service, and my current self, with over 700 hours of community service behind me, I am acutely aware of the significant role that my involvement in the Civic Engagement Program (CEP) has played shaping who I now am. CEP has facilitated my exposure to different types of organizations, volunteer roles, leadership positions, and people.

            This exposure has given me the understanding and competence to meaningfully interact with individuals and groups of individuals of all ages, races, cultures, and economic backgrounds. It is easy to say “don’t judge a book by its cover,” but to actually put this notion into practice is internally demanding. My service during my first two years at Northeastern entailed tutoring urban students of various ages and cultures, a task which I had performed throughout my high school years. Therefore, the first time that I noticed my own pre-judgment was during my third year at Northeastern. I was assigned to a nursing home in Chinatown where my partner and I would be teaching Tai-Chi to residents. As I did not speak Cantonese, had never taken or taught Tai-Chi, and was not familiar with the residents’ culture, I had a bad attitude about my service before it even started. About half way through my service, the translator was out sick. With only our minimal Cantonese and verbal cues to get through the program, my partner and I began the session expecting the worst. The residents, on the other hand, seemed excited to take a more active role in the session and many remembered each and every exercise, both long awaited signs that they were enjoying and benefitting from the program. By finally fully making an effort, I was able to realize how much of an understanding of the residents’ culture I had gained and the level on which I could communicate with others, even without a spoken language in common. It was so fulfilling to see how much was learned on both sides of the relationship.

            During my third and fourth years, I served as a CEP Peer Mentor and was able to share my Tai-Chi experience with first year students. Only then was I able to reflect on this situation and finally understand how much my service teaching Tai-Chi had changed my perspective on service. I was able to share this experience with first year CEP students, in hopes that they would be slightly more open-minded about the unfamiliar than I was and all the while knowing that they would have to learn from their service as I had.

            Service in general benefits all parties involved and CEP appropriately incorporates reflection into students’ service. Without this reflection, it is easy for volunteers to get into a monotonous routine of serving just to serve and to not receive the full benefits that service has to offer. My growth through CEP has enabled me to serve as a Peer Mentor Coordinator during the past year. Along with my co-Coordinator, I developed the first year CEP curriculum, in hopes that these reflections would help students realize the effects of their service on those they serve, as well as themselves. Through this reflection and realization, CEP students will hopefully be inspired to continue their service not only though out their time at Northeastern, but throughout their lives, as CEP as inspired me to do. 

Mahawa Sam is a Team Leader for this semester’s Husky Volunteer Team program.

I am a returning member to Husky Volunteer Team this semester for my third time participating in the program.  I had a strong feeling that I would return to John F. Kennedy Elementary School for my placement site.  Of the few different places I volunteered at with HVT, this school was my favorite.  I’m so glad I got the chance to go back there this semester and have fun working with kids again.  This semester I got placed in the same classroom that I worked in last year.  The students are different, but first-graders are first graders.  They are talkative, curious, and energetic.  They can also be quite an handful and their teacher can attest to that.  That’s why I feel useful being able to help out in the classroom in any way I can.  I genuinely enjoy doing it and their teacher, who I worked for last year, appreciates having me back to help out.  I’m glad to do it and it’s the best way I could spend a Tuesday afternoon.

My role in the classroom is to just support whatever activity the students are working on and be there as an extra resource.  I walk around the room, visiting different tables of students and making sure they are doing their work.  They’ll often ask me how to spell a word or show me a picture they just drew.  They take pride in their work and I like seeing them improve.  It isn’t always easy though.  Sometimes, there’s a student who refuses to do their work and gives an attitude about it.  The best thing I can do is encourage them and make them see why it’s important.  If that doesn’t work, then the teacher will take the necessary action to resolve it.  Also, there are students who misbehave and talk when they should be quiet.  I can tell them to stop that behavior and most of the time it works.  If not, the teacher must hand out a punishment.  It’s not always easy working with kids, but I think it’s worth it.  In the classroom I’m in, the students are 6 and 7 years old.  They are young and learning how to act in school.

            I hope to continue doing the best I can helping the students I work with this semester.  It’s almost coming to an end, so I’m trying to make the most of it.  I’ve been working on learning all of their names and I’m getting really close to having them all memorized.  They really are such individuals with their own personalities.  I’ve really enjoyed getting to know them and hearing what they have to say.  They are so open to telling you what they think and showing off what they are working on.  I like seeing the smiles on their faces when they finish an assignment they worked so hard on.  They feel a sense of accomplishment and I think they want to hold on to that feeling.  I hope to be just one of their supporters as these students go on to accomplish much more in their lives.

Contributed by Marisa Kallenberger, Human Services Professions service-learning student. Marisa plans to graduate in 2017 and is currently undeclared major, leaning toward doing a Business major with minor in Human Services.

I am partnered up with LIFT-Boston, an organization attempting to end poverty by building one-on-one connections to stabilize economic and emotional well-being. I made my preference of LIFT because I knew that it would be a challenge and a big responsibility that I wanted to take on. Each week I will be meeting with up to three clients to help them with their personal needs, such as housing, employment, or child care services.

The first week I went in, we got an introduction to the facility and staff. We took some time to explore the databases online known as LINK and EXCHANGE. LINK is a database of all the clients. Before client meetings, volunteers can look up clients and see their history and what your meeting will most probably entail. At the end of each meeting, a progress note is written. It also has each volunteer’s own personal schedule of who they will be meeting with that week. On EXCHANGE, there is something called a Knowledgebase where there are lists of resources pertaining to each issue. We took some time to familiarize ourselves with these resources.  I got to shadow two client meetings, but both were in Spanish. My knowledge of Spanish enabled me to understand most of what was going on. Both clients were searching for employment but their medical needs and language-barriers were interfering. They were very complex problems that had to be broken down into smaller components. I was very impressed with the volunteer advocate, who is actually a Northeastern co-op student. I was also impressed with Caitlin, the coordinator, who was very knowledgeable about a variety of problems and also had a lot of patience with everyone in the office, including me with my multitude of questions.

The eight hour training on a Saturday was no less inspiring. It was packed full of information from appropriate boundaries as an advocate to how to conduct your initial client meeting. I would need this information for the following Thursday when I had two initial client meetings. An initial meeting means that it was the client’s first time coming to LIFT and it is especially important because it is the first step in asking all of the questions about the reasons why they came to LIFT. My nervousness aside, both meetings went well. Both were similar in that I took intake and tried to find resources to help them with rental assistance. I found a major problem to be the enormous wait lists that most organizations had, when many clients need immediate or short-term help. I made calls after both meetings and finally found an organization called Catholic Charities that can help my clients out with funding. I meet with both of them next week and I am looking forward to informing them that I might have found a resource for both of them.

Xavier Jean, a 3^rd-year Biology major, participated in our Grand Canyon Trust Alternative Spring Break trip as a Team Leader! Read on to learn about his experiences working with ten other NU students on the Navajo Reservation and exploring the Grand Canyon!

During Spring Break, Marissa Jackson and I led an Alternative Spring Break trip to work for the Grand Canyon Trust. This trip was one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. After landing at the Phoenix airport, we headed to get our things to camp in the Grand Canyon. We drove to Flagstaff, and made our way to the canyon right before sunset. The view and the silence of the canyon were truly remarkable. We set up camp nearby and decided to wake up early to see the sunrise on the canyon. After packing up camp, we decided to go hiking below the rim of the canyon. The views while going down were unbelievable. We went down a couple of miles and decided to come back up. Going up was much harder, but we all made it out. From there, we took the desert view drive all the way to the watch tower. The watch tower gave us a beautiful view of the canyon and the Colorado River running through it.

Most of our work was focused on helping North Leupp Farms, a communal farm on the Navajo Reservation. Our work revolved around preparing the farm for spring planting. We were able to get a lot of work done in just a short amount of time. Some of the work that we did was raising beds, clearing room for solar panels, working in the greenhouse and painting. We also worked at Tolani Lake Enterprise, planting seeds and making tables for the greenhouse. Our camp was located right near the farm. Even though the nights were below freezing every night, our team was always enthusiastic and bonded right away. During the night, we would sit by the campfire and watch the stars or play campfire games. We really came together as a team and by the end of the week we all had become great friends with a plethora of inside jokes and a mutual love of the song “Wagon Wheel”.

The generosity and the gratefulness of the Navajo Native Americans were incredible. During our trip, we got to meet many people in the Navajo Nation and hear their stories. They also shared a lot of their culture. One day, we were able to make fry bread, a traditional Navajo bread that is similar to funnel cake. We were all given seeds of native plants and some Navajo tea to take home with us. On top of all of this generosity, the Navajo people cooked us mutton. Sheep is a very traditional meal for the Navajo Native Americans, and it is usually saved for important events such as marriages. The mutton was delicious and we saw just how precious the food was for them. They ate every part of the sheep without wasting anything. It was awe inspiring to watch and it made me want to become less wasteful as a person.

I have participated in Alternative Spring Breaks in both my years here at Northeastern, and it is a program that I highly recommend to anyone. I have met great people, observed different cultures and landscapes, and saw the amount of work a group of people can accomplish in just a week.

Lindsay Weigel is a  3rd-year Health Science major preparing for her third Alternative Spring Break trip!

On March 2nd, I will be embarking on my third Alternative Spring Break journey (second as a team leader), and I couldn’t be more excited. ASB is an opportunity to explore a new part of the world, to put positive energy towards service work that will directly benefit society, and to become more integrated into the student community at Northeastern.

            During the spring break of my freshman year, over six years after Hurricane Katrina, I traveled to New Orleans to help renovate houses, conserve wetlands, and develop community gardens for the neighborhoods in the Lower Ninth Ward. It was shocking how much work still had to be done to restore the community after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, but in just one week, my ASB group was able to make vast improvements in some of the dilapidated housing units and plant new life in the community gardens that we prepared. What I appreciated most about this trip was the exposure to the culture and Southern hospitality that the people of New Orleans had to offer in exchange for our hard work.

            The following year, I led a trip to Navajo Nation, located near the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Our group had a two-pronged mission of building solar panels in homes that did not have access to electricity in order to make everyday living more feasible for the older community and of preparing North Leupp Farm for its spring planting season. Despite the hardships of having to sleep in tents outside in 100 mile per hour winds and below freezing temperatures, my group’s spirit and enthusiasm never faded. The gratefulness the Navajo Native Americans showed us for our work was sensational. Although many of them did not speak English, they were still able to share their culture and show their appreciation through mealtime, prayer, and traditional stories.

            This spring break, I will be leading another group of twelve to Everglades and Biscaynes National Park in Florida, where we will be working to remove invasion species, cleanup beaches, and maintain the park’s facilities. The enthusiasm of my group is already palpable, and it’s still nine days away! In addition to our hard work with the National Park Service, we will also be exploring Miami and learning about the John Pennecamp State Park in Key Largo. Many of the members in my group have not yet been on an ASB trip, and I can’t wait to see how much they’re going to enjoy it!

The Civic Engagement Program (CEP) redefines scholarship by requiring students with full scholarships to Northeastern to volunteer in their communities 100 hours per academic year for each year they attend Northeastern. Heesu Kim is a first year CEP National Merit Scholar.

This year, as a first-year CEP student, I’m partnered with America SCORES Boston. As the flagship program of America SCORES New England, SCORES gives poetry and soccer lessons to over 1,000 low-income urban students in over 20 Boston public elementary and middle schools. Its teaching objectives are threefold: to advance literacy education, foster healthy and active lifestyles, and promote service-learning. In the fall, I chose to get involved with poetry classes, interested in trying out the education sector of community service. As an assistant to the poetry coach, I spent one day a week helping teach 20 boys at a local school in poetic devices and writing.

Through my experience at SCORES, I’ve seen firsthand how eagerly and joyfully kids respond to programs that give them a chance to play and learn. It was a revealing first venture into the whirlwind of youth education—I had both good and difficult days; days when students were excited and glad to learn, and days when they wanted nothing to do with poems or writing. I interacted with the classroom as a unit and on a one-on-one basis, both learning to guide a classroom and discover individual personalities all at once. I directed students alongside the teachers and sometimes alone. These day-to-day tasks were novel and sometimes daunting, but at the end of the day, always gratifying and always worth the work.

The experiences that stand out most to me are the times when I worked with individual students—talking to a youth who acted out in class, giving extra guidance to a second language learner—all of which have shown me that my personal service interests lie in youth care and development. Most of all, the weekly frustrations and joys of working with an energetic classroom of students have taught me the immeasurable values of patience and understanding, and above all, in forming relationships and friendships with my students.  CEP has opened the door for me to volunteer with a program that has both enriched and clarified my own understanding of my service passions. As a beginning CEP student, I’m happy to say that I have found a first-year partner which teaches me not only about community service, but also about myself and where I hope to take this unique opportunity for future ventures. 

Sonu Gandhi wrote this post about her experience as a Jumpstart Corps member!

When I first entered the classroom, I saw all the kids eagerly eating snacks. A few of the kids decided to introduce themselves to me. Instantly, I knew I wanted one of them as my partner child. When my leader said I have Antwon as my partner child, I had no idea who this child was. I asked the teacher who then pointed to the child in the house corner sitting alone with action figures. As a way to make small talk, I tried to persuade him to come have snack with all the other kids, but it seemed like he was pretending not to hear me. No eye contact or interaction. I just hoped he wasn’t going to be as difficult to work with as I anticipated. Every time, I sat in welcome with him, he eagerly grabbed his name card, but refused to go past the first letter of his name. I felt like I tried everything to help him recognize the next few letters: saying the letters, sounding them out, even comparing them to the letters in my other partner child’s name. I had learned that in order to show I have comprehended something, I needed to prove it. I guess that was not the case for him. Week after week, I was frustrated. He stared at the name card more and more but there was no indication that he could recognize the next letters. During our team planning meeting, our team leader handed out gifts our kids made for us. I get two cards, expecting both of them to be written by Lauren, my other partner child. I open them up and they have the letters A, N, T in that order and W, O, and N after the first three but in a different order. Antwon recognized and wrote the letters of his name, a task I was trying to accomplish from day 1. I believe Antwon is the perfect example of how perseverance pays off in the end. Each child has their own way of learning and going about certain tasks and if we, as corps members do not try to accommodate to their learning styles, it only hinders corps members from fulfilling the Jumpstart goal. My learning style is completely different from Antwon’s, but he has taught me that if I persevere by changing the path to how I want to fulfill an ultimate goal, I can still be successful. Not only have I learned, but he has too which could not make me feel any better. The progress he has made is comparable to the progress Jumpstart is trying to make in each child’s life. 

This week’s blog post is brought you by Yves Singletary, one of our MPF 2nd Year Senior Fellows, serving at Start Strong through the Boston Health Commission. Enjoy!

~Sahar

Unhealthy relationship or Healthy Relationship? That is the question! Might seem like a simple answer, but being able to decipher the characteristics of an unhealthy relationship isn’t as simple as it might seem. Luckily there is Start Strong! Start Strong Boston is a teen dating violence prevention initiative of the Boston Public Health Commission.

Our high school aged Peer Leaders go out into the community to educate other young people,  ages 11-14 across Boston, on topics of healthy relationships, teen dating violence, healthy break-ups, gender stereotypes, and media messaging. Our teens have been hard at work this year working with three community centers and conducting various single session workshops around the city.

Most recently we were visited by 12-year NBA veteran and former Celtics player Keyon Dooling. He retired from the Celtics last year and now serves as a Player Development Coordinator for the team. Dooling’s energy and charisma shined bright as he spoke to our Peer Leaders about his struggles growing up as an inner city youth to his success as an NBA superstar. Dooling also opened up about being a survivor of sexual violence as a youth. He is now looking to travel around the country through his new foundation RESPECT speaking to teens and boys about sexual violence and masculinity.  Keyon not only came to share, but came to listen to our young people as well.  Our teens conducted a workshop for Dooling on teen dating violence, based off of our work at Community centers, which was very well received.   

All my Peer Leaders are pretty amazing but I’d like to give a special shout out to Jaylin.  Jaylin has been involved with our program since its inception. He was recognized by City of Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino for his outstanding contribution to the city with his teen dating violence prevention and healthy relationship promotion work. Please check out the article below!

http://boston.com/metrodesk/2013/02/02/teen-honored-with-city-award-for-role-fighting-teen-violence/yErAN3AakAZeXHZlxtvaOI/story.html

Julia Bielecki is a Civil Engineering major who volunteered with HVT last spring at he Blue Hill Boys and Girls Club. Below is her account of her experiences with HVT, and why she’s returned to HVT for a second semester of community service! 

“By my third year at Northeastern, and I had already experienced many great clubs and activities.  I had spent time learning about Italian culture, giving campus tours, and even helping to build a canoe out of concrete.  But I wanted to try something different, something where I could help others and learn a little bit more about the community I was now a part of.  Luckily, that opportunity presented itself in the form of the Husky Volunteer Team.  I was placed in a group who would meet every week to travel to Dorchester, where the Blue Hill Boys and Girls Club is located. 

“The first time we traveled to the Club, I was struck by how friendly the atmosphere was.  Elementary and high school kids could go there to do homework, sports, and lots of fun activities.  I was placed in their Homework Help room, where I had the chance to work with many of the younger children on whatever work had been given to them that day.  Over the next few weeks, I began to build relationships with the kids and looked forward to seeing them each time.  No matter how bad my day had been before I got there, it always made me smile to see how excited they were to come to the Club after school.  At the end of each session, I know I left a little bit happier then when I first went in.  

“Returning to campus after co-oping at home, I wanted to be a part of this team again.  I was excited to find out that I’ll be helping out at a similar program this semester.  The thought of making a difference in the community, and seeing the smiles on those kids’ faces is something I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of.”

The Service-Learning Program sat down with former Advanced Spanish 2 service-learning student Tara Opalinski to ask her about her decision to pursue a co-op with her former service-learning community partner.

What about your S-L experience with ¿Oíste? prompted you to pursue a co-op with them?

“As a Spanish minor at Northeastern, it was incredibly helpful that I was able to facilitate my Spanish skills both through speaking and writing in Spanish every time that I went to ¿Oíste?. Between my time as a service-learning student and a co-op, I’ve had the opportunities to fight against anti-immigration bills at the Massachusetts State House, go to political rallies in the Latino community and beyond, and am in regular contact with local elected officials. I also believe in ¿Oíste?’s mission to help Latinos in Massachusetts find a stronger voice in politics, and not only Latino citizens but Latino immigrants as well. I’m passionate about human rights so that is what sparked my interest to further pursue a co-op with ¿Oíste?.”

How did your S-L experience prepare you for your co-op with ¿Oíste? and other future employment opportunities and/or academic coursework?

“The service-learning helped me significantly because through my service I was already familiar with positions at ¿Oíste? and had already interacted with their partners when the time came to apply for a co-op. The fact that I had prior knowledge about how ¿Oíste? operates and the partners and issues that they work with was a huge advantage in the co-op application process and also provided me with the relationships that I needed to make an impact. This co-op has so many more doors for me than I had originally expected, and the responsibilities and projects I have taken on have required above and beyond the job description. Just last week I was interviewed in Spanish on Univision nightly news, which was an incredible experience. I definitely see myself continuing down this path of defending human rights.”

Will you be working with the S-L students at ¿Oíste? this fall? If so, what is your best piece of advice for them?

“I supervised student volunteers over the summer and will be working with Northeastern students this fall when they soon start their service with ¿Oíste?. If I had one piece of advice, I would say be open to all volunteer opportunities that ¿Oíste? offers you. You will have opportunities to participate in events that ¿Oíste? is hosting or attending outside of 9am-5pm work hours and on the weekends where significant networking opportunities exist. These events and activities will allow you to make great connections and practice your Spanish skills, especially at fundraising events with many elected officials, representatives from like-minded organizations, and plenty of fluent Spanish speakers. Don’t dismiss these out of hour events as obligations, they are opportunities for personal and career-based growth.”

How did your service impact and integrate with your course experience in Advanced Spanish 2?

“Inside the classroom, we discussed the challenges and obstacles within Spanish communities but a whole different dimension is added when you go into those communities and see those challenges up front. For instance, I really noticed the challenges in education that Latino adult students face and I now understand more about what they need from state resources to help dissolve those challenges. ¿Oíste? is also very politically active with the election coming up. The size of the Latino community has doubled over the last ten years, however the voice of that community is not reflected in the political process the way that it should be. “

How has your S-L and co-op experience affected your outlook on the relationship between community service and academics?

“Through my experience working for ¿Oíste?, I have learned more about our government system in Massachusetts and how much more complex it is than I had originally assumed. I value my education more after sitting in a classroom with youth and adults and hearing about their personal challenges to achieve the same level of education that I have. I have befriend those that I work closely with and I have learned a lot from them and the challenges they have faced. Those encounters enrich my learning experience much more than stories you can gather through textbooks. I was exposed to real-life challenges and stories and ultimately, unique learning opportunities through the service-learning program.”

The Massachusetts Promise Fellowship would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and a great start to 2013! Here at MPF we believe that all young people in the Commonwealth have a right to the resources they need to be successful in life, including a caring adult, a safe place, a healthy start, an effective education, and an opportunity to serve. In order to really highlight this work, we’ve decided to showcase the impact of one of our Senior Fellows, Sahar Momand. Sahar is currently in her second year of service at Girls Inc. of Lynn. Read on to learn more about Sahar’s College Mentoring program and hear firsthand about the impact she is having for young girls in Lynn!

Hey everyone! My name is Sahar Momand and I’m serving a second year with the Massachusetts Promise Fellowship at Girl’s Inc. of Lynn. December was a month of great news at Girls Inc. The seniors in my College Mentoring Program are making progress on their college applications and working really hard to get their essays completed in time. To celebrate their hard work, Girls Inc. hosted a holiday event for both teens and their mentors. At our celebration, volunteers donated gifts to our teens and Girls Inc. was nice enough to provide gift bags to our dedicated mentors.

This December, we were very proud to hear that two of our seniors received prestigious scholarships from the Posse Foundation for their fall 2013 college admission!  Girls Inc. nominated Caroline and Messeret for the POSSE scholarship last summer and they underwent a rigorous interview process. The POSSE Foundation seeks high achieving students that exhibit great leadership qualities from several cohorts around the United States (Lynn students get recruited for the Boston cohort). The students that receive POSSE scholarships are accepted to liberal arts colleges that are POSSE partners and are given four year full scholarships and a network of summer and post-graduate opportunities. This fall Caroline will attend Denison in Ohio and Messeret will attend Bucknell in Pennsylvania.

Girls Inc. also had the opportunity to take 10 of our peer leaders to the Massachusetts Conference on Women in early December. Participants were given scholarship slots by conference organizers and I was also able to attend as a staff member. Teens were able to interact with extraordinary women from many different sectors, which was an incredible experience to witness and left us all feeling inspired.  The teens reported that Arianna Huffington’s keynote address was one of the major highlights of the conference. Some of our teens were even lucky enough to have their notebooks signed by Arianna at the close of the conference.

So, as you can see, December was a busy month for me and our teens at Girls Inc. We’re looking forward to the spring ahead and getting our teens ready for their college journey! Thanks for reading about my service and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about Girls Inc. or our mission. You can reach me at smomand88@gmail.com.

Some of our seniors with their holiday gift bags at our college mentoring session.

Messeret and her mentor Ricky. Ricky gave Messeret her first Bucknell sweatshirt at the first mentoring after Messeret got the news she received the scholarship!

Girls Inc. peer leaders at the MA Conference for Women.