I came home for the MLK long weekend, although I will be back at school later tonight because I signed up for the MLK Day of Service to a) get some hours for the CEP log and more importantly, b) take this opportunity to grow and learn new ways in which to serve my community. Although this takes up my holiday, I think it will be a day well spent; attending workshops may inspire me for future activities to come.
As I reflect on the weeks I have been at school, I have learned to appreciate what the University Scholars Program has offered to me, including the fact that it connected me to the Civic Engagement Program. The standard goal of meeting 100 hours is raw and bare; the students’ experiences that this program allows and offers are invaluable. I’m not sure if that made sense… What I mean is that the numbers are just numbers, but what really matters are the experiences and the process that we all encounter while running towards the goal. Cliché, but the whole idea about the process being the key, not the product.
I’m tutoring at Dearborn Middle School with MathStars. Honestly, sometimes it feels like I signed up to monitor the kids’ behaviors and making sure they don’t go crazy rather than actually teach them how to multiply, but I’ve learned a lot from this. Being outside of my comfort zone, seeing a different world… I would never have imagined being a part of this community had it not been for the opportunity given to me, so thank you for making this possible.
“We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.”
-Martin Luther King Jr., I Have a Dream
by Jessica Choi, Pharmacy Major, University Scholar from Lexington, MA