...And it is seriously the biggest waste of time.
I mean we do the most pointless stuff, and it's not even a Gen-Ed requirement.
We all hate it. All 50 of us.
So when the teacher introduced this "community based" project we all formulated ways to b.s our way through it.
Let me explain what this project is.
You're put in groups with kids that have the same type of major as you do. You find a problem in the community that hopefully relates back to what your majors are.You analyse the problem, conduct interviews and surveys to investigate the problem, research the problem, create awareness about the problem, hopefully find a solution to the problem.
Awesome.
Each group was rather large, at least 8 members.
Except ours.
We had 4 members. Four girls. The majors? Journalism, Mexican-American studies, Art, and Undecided.
...Right.
We had no idea what to do. We wanted to possibly investigate the decline of art programs in schools.
Yeah, we really had no idea what to do.
After many group meetings, and many meetings with our professor and p.a. we finally decided on an idea.
Problem: Not enough minority students attend college. Often times they aren't well informed about college, and they believe it is unobtainable. They also think that the careers they want to pursue aren't some they have to go to college for. Furthermore, they think to go to college means they have to be a doctor or an engineer, something that might seem out of their reach.
Solution: Find out the barriers students are facing in regards to college. Inform them about our majors, which are usually underrepresented at the grade school level. Target them with their interests to promote an interest in college. Provide resources for them.
And thus, the College Sin Fronteras project was born.
The plan was to go to Nosotros Academy Charter School and present 5 workshops to 15 students.
A little background?
Nosotros Academy is a charter school that is basically minority students. These are the kids who couldn't really do public school. Couldn't keep up with the curriculum for whatever reason. Instead of dropping out...they come here.
Our College Sin Fronteras program consisted of three main ideas. Overcome. Explore. Achieve.
In the Overcome stage, we pinpoint what the students barriers are...the "fronteras" keeping them from going to college. Whether it is money, grades, etc.
In the Explore stage, we present workshops on our majors. Expose them to the possibilities that lie within our fields of study. Basically letting them know the vast amount of opportunities within the university.
In the Achieve stage, we provided scholarship opportunity and financial aid sources to the kids. Help them realize that they too can go to college.
So the first day, we're discussing with the kids about how they feel about college.
"My mom says why should I even think about college when I'm 19 and still in high school."
What?
"Teachers look at me like I don't mean anything, like I'm not going to succeed."
Uhhh.
These kids were receiving absolutely no support.
They didn't have parents at home motivating them.
They didn't have anyone on their team.
I was completely taken aback.
When asked what they wanted to be when they grew up, many responded, "I don't know."
When asked where they see themselves in 5 years, many responded, "I don't know."
They don't have guidance.
They don't have a plan.
They don't know what to do.
My mentality prior to coming in to the school was just to get some research done.
After that discussion, my mentality turned to genuinely trying to make some sort of an impact on these kids lives.
So as the week progressed, they began to open up to us more, becoming receptive to our presentations.
(Not gonna lie, I was a little nervous for my 30 minute presentation on Journalism. 30 min, que??)
Alas, the last day arrived. We made sure to bring in pizza and soda for the kids, just as a little thank you for having them participate in our program.
As we ate, we talked to the kids, on a more personal level.
We asked how old they thought we were.
"22, 23."
They were blown away when we said we were Freshman, 18 and 19 years old.
We even got some of them thinking about college.
“I thought College was boring stuff and that I could not find something that would
interest me. Now I see that I can get a better job if I go to college”
"I'm considering maybe doing Art in college."
The most incredible thing was this:
"I think there should be more people like you guys to motivate us. It supports us and lets us know that people still care about whether or not we go to college."
Wow.
What?
All four of us girls were speechless.
This might have been a slightly pointless class to take.
We might have been completely stressed out trying to figure this project out.
We might have taken hours putting together powerpoints, brainstorming, and going back and forth with the principal.
And it all boiled down to that one comment.
"There should be more people like you guys to motivate us."
That right there made all of us want to go back to the school. (And the kids begging us to come back helped as well.)
That right there made me realize that although I have my own problems, I can use my talents and skills to help other kids who would otherwise really have no future.
That right there made it all worth it.
Way cool, gal. Congrats.
ReplyDelete