Although they take little time to complete, writing community service reflections can be a rewarding process. Reading them provides valuable insight into others’ service experiences. However, after clicking “submit,” few people will do anything further with their reflections. Upon realizing this, the Feature Section decided to hold a contest, so that students who are proud of their reflections have a chance to share them with a wider audience. Congratulations to winners Hassiet Asberom ’15,  Shannon Peters ’17, and Kiran Damodaran ’17, whose entries are shared below.

Shannon Peters ’17, volunteering at the Florham Park Library

I went to the Florham Park Library to help girls (kindergarten-4th grade, I believe) make snowman and winter decorations for the big windows in the children’s wing of the library. We got there and quickly set up while kids were walking in, then sat down at tables with about 3-4 girls and helped cut out shapes and glue candy canes on and talk about their hobbies (so that we could personalize their snowmen to be soccer players, scientists, ballerinas, etc. of course 🙂 ) This was an extremely fun service time because I was working with my two favorite things, children and art. I left with better knowledge of how to engage the quieter girls because of a friend at the table who was doing it very well. I hope that I shared a love of creativity and art with the little girls which, based on the candy cane earrings one made and princess tutu another created, I would assume I did. I would say the experience went above my expectations. I was working with kids between the ages I’ve babysat before so I got to try out what engages them and doesn’t at their age. I found I left with a bond with the girls (and the snowmen) and was sad to see them go. Hopefully, we will do it again in the spring as the decorating is something we have sponsored a few years now and I am very excited for that possibility to work with these troops again! 

Hassiet Asberom ’15, teaching English in China

I was a volunteer English teacher at Yuhuatai Elementary School in Nanjing, China for three weeks. I co-taught, with my Chinese host brother, a group of migrant children around the age of eleven. Everyone in my group that came with me to China also taught a class, composed of nine to twelve kids. We would work together planning lessons and brainstorming ideas of what to show the kids the following day. The classes met four times a week and consisted of three lessons: spoken English (or English grammar), outdoor activities, and American culture. My host brother and I had to arrange lesson plans each night and we did a lot of fun things like introducing the kids to American foods and American cartoons. One class I even made everyone a peanut butter sandwich, which the kids really loved. I learned that teaching kids, planning lessons, and managing a classroom is extremely difficult. In fact it was even more difficult because of the language barrier; almost all of the kids only knew a few words of English. The experience exceeded my expectation in the sense that I created many surprise friendships with the kids, despite the language barrier, and baffled me in many ways because of all the unforeseen challenges. It was definitely hard work but it gave me confidence in my Chinese skills, especially because I spoke to kids. I would 100% work with this program again in the future, maybe even by spending a semester in China during college. 

Kiran Damodaran ’17: volunteering at Stepping Stone School for children with Down syndrome

This summer, I spent a lot of time at a school called Stepping Stones. Stepping Stones is an early intervention program for kids with Down syndrome that focuses on providing educational support and therapy to the children and teaching the family the way it can help the child. I absolutely loved working here. I loved the kids, I loved the environment and I loved everything the school was about. It taught me patience and helped me realize my passion in working with children by allowing me to spend more time with them. It also made me recognize that although it is not widely known, people with Down syndrome really aren’t different 

than people without Down syndrome; all it is is an extra chromosome. Although people make it seem as though Down syndrome is some disease that needs a cure, that’s not true. Through this experience I met some people with Down syndrome who had gone through the Stepping Stones program as children and they were some of the best people I’ve ever met. The community surrounding the school was full of loving people who really cared about the kids and the cause and they showed me a way that you can really incorporate the idea of “community service” into your actual life. I call it community service, which makes it seem like it’s a one-way street, but that too, I’ve learned, isn’t true. Community service is reciprocal; you shouldn’t do it because you have to, and to be honest, if you don’t enjoy something about the experience, it’s likely you won’t really continue to do it if you’re not forced. I loved working at Stepping Stones and spending time in that community and it was an experience I definitely won’t forget. It far exceeded any expectations I could have set for it and I plan on returning to work there next summer.