Michelle Skinner

      Throughout my high school career I had a long record of volunteering that helped me to realize that I thoroughly enjoy donating my time and helping people. When I moved to Chicago last August, and after I had settled fairly well into my routine of classes and go to work, I began to realize that I missed volunteering. Upon mentioning this to my older brother, he enthusiastically informed me about a mentoring program he would be completing through the Newman Center. After hearing the description, and seeing how enthusiastic my brother was about the program, I decided to become a mentor through the Metro Achievement Center for girls. br />
      Now, what exactly is the Metro Achievement Center? It is actually one portion of what is called the Midtown Educational Foundation, with the other portion being the Midtown Center for boys. These centers focus on helping children and young adults to become better students and better people through after-school and summertime programs that integrate academics with virtues. What this precisely meant to me is that in September of this year I was assigned a mentee who I have then subsequently worked with every Monday for approximately two hours.

      While the academic portion of the program was fairly easy to me because I had been assigned to assist a fourth grade student, building both good study habits and values can be a challenging task. Oftentimes, since my past volunteering experience had been in a small town community where I frequently saw the children I was working with, it was easiest to lead by example. Yet, in this very specific case, that approach was unrealistic. Most importantly, consistency was key: since I was working with my student once a week it was easy to continually revisit important ideas about good study habits. Building virtues was probably the most challenging aspect of mentoring through Metro. While it is easy to have a twenty minute talk with a student regarding the aspects of being a good student, there was really no definite way to tell if the message was sinking in. What was a particular challenge was the disconnectedness of my student’s parent. Metro requests that mentor communicate with a student’s parent on a week to week basis, and while my student’s mother was quite kind, she also seemed mildly unconcerned about the character building aspects that Metro tries to accentuate in the program.

Admittedly, my work with Metro has probably been some of the most challenging volunteer work that I have completed. Yet, there were numerous times that I was glad I partook in the program. My student, though sometimes lacking in the dedication department, is very intelligent. Through working with her consistently, I have seen her focus improve, and subsequently the grades on her report card. I have also gotten to share some enjoyable experiences with her. On light homework nights we play chess together, and I have been quite simply schooled in the art of chess by someone ten years younger than myself. Through the graciousness of the Metro Achievement Center, I was able to attend the Nutcracker Suite with my student, and outside of a completely school free environment I was able to see the glowing personality that my student possessed. Through this very unique experience I have grown myself. I no longer view myself as so much of a child. Being confronted with someone who looks as me not as a 19 year old college kid, but rather an adult, I have come to really less on my parents and take the sort of control an adult should have over their life. Most importantly though, I have had the idea reinforced that donating time to someone else is one of the most rewarding things someone can choose to do.