Volunteering Experience
Starting down the volunteering road this semester was a bit rocky, but it all ended up working out and I am blessed and glad to have had this experience. I had applied to and attended meetings to work with ACES as a volunteer but after some struggling with schedules, classes, bus routes, etc. – the time slot and location did not work out. I was encouraged to contact Laurel Hirt who had a couple of new options for me – one of which was Volunteers of America. I was able to contact VOA, however not able to attend an orientation session until March 4th, setting me back a little later than expected ( in the mean time, I also had to attend the sessions provided by the University of Minnesota pertaining to volunteer orientation in general because I did not have that when I took 1281). I believe it was fate that set me up with the wonderful organization of VOA!
One of Volunteers of America’s principals and values is Volunteerism:
“We believe in the value of volunteerism, and seek to pursue our mission with the active involvement of volunteers. We believe that all persons are assets for their community, and seek to extend to all persons, including our program participants, the opportunity to contribute as a volunteer.�
This statement truly sums up what my experience at VOA has been – it made me feel as though I could make a change, that I was an asset to my community, that I could really make a difference. So, being a little nervous, but of course excited and ready to go – I attended my first session as a tutor Monday, March 10th. I was originally placed with an intermediate English/reading class but was then switched to a beginning level classroom, where I worked individually with students on certain aspects and areas of English, reading, and writing.
Of course, it was an entirely new experience for me (aside from the couple of times I was in a similar situation for Arch 1281) where I felt a bit out of place and looked a little strange to everyone else. However, that quickly changed. Kelly, the teacher for the class, was incredibly welcoming and the students warmed up to me as well in short time. The teacher would have students copy 5 sentences down from the white board into a note book and circle the verbs or nouns or adverbs, etc. This was done every week to give the students practice in their writing and grammar skills. After writing, the class then read the sentences and worked on some grammar lessons. The class then did a reading and reading comprehension exercise (this is when I got to branch off and work one-on-one with a student having trouble in a certain area).
Most of the time the students I worked with had trouble pronouncing letters or words, writing down words, naming items from pictures, or just simply reading. I would practice each week with something different – whether it was flashcards, reading materials, just listening to students read and reading to them, writing short words, or pronouncing short words. Even educational structures like fill in the blanks, flashcards, or writing exercise are confusing or foreign to these students because they do not know how they work (something that seems so easy and is inherent to students here) so that was a challenge in itself to teach these systems while also dealing with the language barrier.
However, no matter how frustrated or complicated the issue at hand was, the students always gave it a try and were always eager to get it right. The students in the class varied greatly in ages and were at very minimal English/writing levels; however, they were some of the most determined people I have ever seen. They were determined to get help – most of the time not embarrassed to ask for it (an extremely brave sign), unwavering in their need to annunciate something until it sounded right, diligent in their want to copy sentences down and form letters like the teacher. It was a huge sign of promise and of strength to me – something I am proud to have helped develop and advance, no matter how small, in my experience with Volunteers of America.
I cannot say how much I have learned through this experience, the people I have met, and the tasks I have been challenged with. It is a great feeling knowing that this is something I can and will continue to do in the future, and that is with thanks to the people who made it such a good experience for me!