Students in Service and Leadership at Harvard

The Story of Me

How I Got Involved...

I started volunteering with MHASP in my freshman fall, and served as a counselor for the teen group (13-17 year-olds). During freshman year, I went once a week and worked just with teen group, whose layout is a bit different than the other groups. For example, they do not pair one specific counselor with one specific student, but rather have everyone working together and helping where needed. In this format, I did not feel like I was getting much out of program, because I often felt like I was not being utilized and would sit around trying to help a student, but they did not know me well or did not want my help. So, the next year I decided that instead of stopping MHASP, I would try working in a different group to see if I liked it better. I now work with red group, which is the youngest students (usually five to six years old), and have loved the experience. This semester, I attended program once a week (on Mondays) and worked closely and got to develop a relationship with two specific children. Getting to have the one-on-one time with specific students allowed me to be more present at Mission Hill and made me much more involved than with the teen group format.

A Typical Day

Every Monday at 3:20, counselors, coordinators, and directors meet near the science center plaza to load vans and drive over to program. As mentioned before, coordinators and directors who have had their license for over two years are required to drive when needed. By about 3:45/4 pm, the vans arrive at a nearby parking lot, and Harvard students meet up with the few Northeastern and Wellesley volunteers. Then, volunteers split up by color group (and usually by child-pairing) and go to pick up their students. My student goes to school very nearby to the program site, so I wait for her outside her school and take the short walk to program. When we arrive to the classroom, we sit together at our usual table, talk about the day, enjoy a snack, and get started on homework. Sometimes, it is difficult to get her to settle down from the day, so I use strategies like letting her listen to music on my headphones or doing some yoga/stretching/light dancing to get energy out. These strategies are key in ensuring a productive day, because sometimes students can be resistant to starting homework immediately after a long school day, or other things in their life could be bothering them. Overall, my experience with my student(s) has been overwhelmingly positive, and true misbehavior does not happen often. After we finish homework, we will either color with markers, do other worksheets, or read in the reading corner. My student likes coloring, listening to music, and socializing with her peers. So, after homework, I hang out with her and her friends, coloring, dancing, and having fun. Then comes curriculum. Curriculum is usually lead by a coordinator, and varies from week to week. Some examples of activities include building structures out of spaghetti and marshmallows, karaoke, reading a book aloud, or playing with model magic. Curriculum is designed to be an educational activity, but also something fun for the children to look forward to. After curriculum, we pack up, head out, and I typically walk 2-3 children home each week. Because of the nature of program, all the children live relatively close to one another, and drop-offs at individual houses do not take more than 10 minutes. Finally, I climb back onto the van and head back to Harvard, typically arriving back on campus between 6:15 and 6:30 pm. 

In the Future...

This year has been extremely rewarding, and I plan on staying involved for semesters to come. In my interviews and meetings with people for this project, I have decided that I want to get deeper involved with Mission Hill as a coordinator, and will be coordinating in Orange group next year!

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