On Thursday, 2/18/2010, Chicago Youth Center welcomed 11 YLS members to their facility at 3947 S. Michigan Ave. for what turned out to be an exceptional volunteer event.
First, the site coordinators indulged us in a tour of the center, which boasts a host of activity hubs (e.g. swimming pool, basketball court, library, teen lounge, computer lab, cafeteria, etc.) all situated off of a narrow maze of hallways in a building more than 100 years old that, from the street, looks too small to contain more than a convenient store selection of magazine racks and snacks.
The Director of the facility took time to educate volunteers on the breadth of services and activities they provide at CYC. She then instilled the fear of (insert religious deity here) in us – or at least in me – by elaborating on our role for the evening.
We were going to be broken up with groups of teenagers and would have to walk them through the CYC scholarship application – complete with providing guidance on essay responses and the do’s and don’ts of completing this and similar applications. That wasn’t all… We would also have to engage participants in mock interviews and provide feedback on their strengths and weaknesses at the conclusion.
Though a daunting task within a 2 hour window, it was one of the most incredible volunteer experiences of my life.
My group consisted of 7 girls ranging from grades 8 to 12. They also ranged vastly in their exposure to a process such as this as well in their writing skills and experiences from which they could draw for essay responses.
…and so it began…Initially, some group members could not have been less interested in the task at hand while others were fully engaged in every word that I uttered. I pushed on, nudging and encouraging along the way, highlighting the importance of “getting it right”, “taking it seriously” and differentiating themselves because in the real world, that application is the first step towards funding for their continued education, but could also be the last step if it lands them in the “No” pile. I drew from my own experiences, and little-by-little got everyone on board.
As fearful as I initially was about their receptiveness of my constructive criticisms and “red pen” approach, it seemed that the more I guided them, corrected them, and praised what they did well, the more they craved. Those who wouldn’t be bothered with putting pen to paper at the outset soon had page-long responses and were anxious to get my input on their latest edits.
The most rewarding parts…
My group was so immersed in their work that when 2 new teens entered the room and 1 was being distracting, everyone discouraged it stating that they were trying to focus. The young man apologized and kept to himself from then forward. At that point, I knew I had them hooked.
When it was time to pack-up for the evening, the group verbalized their disappointment that we couldn’t continue. One young woman asked if it would be okay to take my email address and connect with me for guidance as she continued to prepare her application(s). From there, the ripple effect resulted in me offering to return to CYC to meet with the group and continue to work with them through the application and interview process – an offer that was gladly accepted by the CYC coordinator. I plan to return next week. I can’t say enough about how rewarding it was to see a slight transformation even in only 2 hours with the group, and I’m anxious to see what can be achieved over more time.
A mentor changed my path in life when I was a teen by putting in extra time with me after she had already put in a full day’s work. I would not be who I am now if not for her. This experience, even as a small dose of what she did for me, has taught me that my growth as a result of her guidance probably means as much to her as it does to me, and for a debt that I thought I could never repay, it now feels like I can.
I encourage other participants to share their experiences by posting comments here. Likewise, if you’ve had a mentoring/volunteer experience that you would like to share, please post your comments
Excellent post Jasmine! In my case, I was working with mostly freshman, and it was great to hear them already talking about possible college plans and careers. Although our time there was short, I was incredibly impressed with the students and would really enjoy helping at CYC in the future!
I had an excellent time participating in this activity. Really enjoyed working with the youth to get them thinking about how their actions and decisions affect their futures. The staff of CYC was great at organizing the event and most of the kids seemed to appreciate that we took time to visit with them. One recommendation I have is to do this work primarily with the older kids (jrs. & seniors) because the college grant applications and were most applicable to them. Also the location was convenient off the Green Line, another plus.
Thank you for your comment, Joe. I agree with targetting Juniors and Seniors, and I also feel that it would be beneficial to ensure that students are opting into the sessions. From the outset, I got the sense that a number of the participants had no interest or desire, and although it was nice to get the students on board as we went, with such a limited amount of time, time spent trying to get them to buy into it and get busy on the task at hand seemed like it could have been better utilized. Another point of note that I would be interested in getting feedback from the group on is the frustration that I know a few participants (myself included) had with some of the deficiencies in spelling/grammar/communication etc. This is not unique to the center or these students, but I couldn’t help feeling like in order to really get these students and/or the students to come after them in a position to succeed, we needed to go back to the source: Inadequet school systems in underserved communitees. I do not believe that 2 hours will will make the impact that we as young leaders should be striving to make for our future young leaders.
As the Coordinator of the College and Career Readiness program at CYC, I would like to thank all of you for coming out and working with our youth! I look forward to the possibility of future opportunities for your group to work with our teens. It is so important for our youth to meet and interact with young professionals. Young people need to see other young people who are working in fields which they prepared themselves for through hard work. It is especially important for them to see those same professionals giving back! I was impressed with the enthusiasm which your members displayed when working with our teens. This was especially important for the youth who were less than enthusiastic themselves about participating. In many cases, your efforts turned them around and got them engaged in the activity. As for the academic deficiencies in language arts, this is a real issue our youth need help with overcoming. Underperforming schools and parents who were also products of these schools, have left some youth with gaps in their educational foundation, which can only be corrected with remediation. Over the long term CYC’s strategy is to point our youth in the direction of better performing schools. However, our efforts in the short run must not leave behind those youth whom the educational system has left behind. For that, I thank the YLS members for their efforts to help our students work towards a brighter future.
Thank you Renee for connecting on this topic. What would you recommend for people such as myself and my peers to really make an impact over the long term in the trend in education that we’ve seen over the past several years – particularly in the inner city? I personally feel overwhelmed by it at times, and wondered aloud just yesterday “What am I supposed to do? What can I really do?” Where do you see that we can make the difference?