Creator: Erin Drury
This short reflection explores the concepts of community and service through the experience I had serving at Scholar Athletes. It looks deeper into what it means to serve, and describes how I made my time with my Service-Learning partner more meaningful.
When I first began my service-learning experience via Dr. Keeling’s First Year Writing Course, I was filled with excitement and enthusiasm. I had volunteered throughout high school, mainly as a peer tutor, and was prepared to engage myself in a similar service here in Boston. When choosing a community-partner, I was searching for something that would provide a similar, equally rewarding experience to the one that I had in high school. I was assigned to serve at Scholar Athletes, an organization that devotes its’ time to support academic achievement through athletics and takes volunteers to act as tutors and mentors.
My service-learning experience with Scholar Athletes was not what I expected it to be. I did not tutor students every week, I did not help students with their writing homework, nor did I ever organize athletic activities. Instead, I just talked. Every week for the entire semester I showed up on Tuesday at 9 am, sat down at a table in the middle of the classroom, and waited for students to show up. For the first few weeks, I tried desperately to get students to ask me questions. I would ask them about their homework, upcoming exams, classes, and grades in hopes that they would suddenly need my help, but they never did. These kids were smart. They were smart and they were capable of doing well in school without my help. In addition to that, most of them were seniors, in their spring semester of high school with their mind someplace else.
In the wake of that realization, I felt useless, like I was wasting my time and theirs. On the bus back to Northeastern one cold Tuesday morning I reflected on my time with my community partner and I finally understood what they really needed from me. They needed someone to talk to, someone in college who could help them make sense of the confusing experience that is college decision making. Someone who could act as a mentor but was still close enough in age that they could connect with in a more real way. I had spent so much time inserting myself into their education that I forgot how meaningful real relationships were. When I sat down in the middle of the room the next week, I did not ask them about their homework, tests, classes, or grades. Instead, I just talked, and I have just talked ever since.
Once I took a step back and thought about what the community actually needed, I was able to make a change that gave real meaning to what I was doing. Through this experience, I gained a perspective that allowed me to be more effective with my time, and hopefully, make a positive impact on these students’ lives. We talk about service as doing what the community needs, rather than what you think must be “fixed”. This idea is critical to successful service, but what is even more important to remember is this: Even when you think you are doing what is needed, taking a moment to reflect allows you to gain perspective, and perspective can only make your service more meaningful.