Service-Learning Blog Post

Service-Learning Blog Post

Creator: Leylainy Tejeda

My experience with SquashBusters was very enlightening. My first few times visiting the center I was very surprised by the large sense of community in the center. Towards the end of the day, they hold an acknowledgment circle where the students thank one another for their achievements or for being a good friend. This was very touching, especially because I’ve never viewed this any other after-school programming. It shows that just like the staff, the students care as much about the well being of their peers and they’re there to support one another.

Coming from a public high school in Boston I participated in various nonprofit programs to help me apply to colleges and get me the network of people I know today. So, coming into service learning I had an idea of what it would be like. But I learned that being a student of similar organizations and being a volunteer is very different. As a volunteer, I felt responsible to spend my time wisely in order to help the students to my best ability. I enjoyed creating connections with the students and feeling that they trust me with their stories and their work. I remember connecting with one student in particular and she was very shy in the first hour of our tutoring session but as we continued and I shared my experiences with the subject of her work, she became much more comfortable and realized that she knew more than what she thought she did. After my very heartwarming experience this semester, I realized that this is something I want to continue to pursue as I navigate through the different majors’ Northeastern offers.