Mariah Smith
Volunteer Experience 2
I will be summarizing my volunteer
experience over a four-month period at Kodaikanal International School during
after school hours. Approximately 60% of the student population is Indian and
the other 40% of students come from about 30 different countries. The
population of both the students and staff is very diverse and almost all live
on campus or on nearby school property.
January 17-19 I went to camp with 60
ninth graders from the school. The weekend started Friday after school and
ended Sunday afternoon. As a volunteer it was required of me to ensure that all
students are within a safe environment and are being in appropriate relations
with one another. There were many activities for the students to participate in
and as a group leader, I motivated students and made sure student felt included
to participate in the activity. The activities included rock-wall climbing,
rafting, swimming, zip lining, archery, and lots of eating. During this
volunteer experience, I learned what moments are more important to let students
do whatever they would like instead of telling them what they need to do. The
goal of the weekend was to help students socialize with other students
especially the ones that were new this semester.
During the spring semester of school
I have been co-leading a Swing Dance club that meets every Friday for students.
We have at least four students each week and at most ten students. This
opportunity has provided experience on how to teach students through movement
and this has expanded my ideas on what I could do in the classroom. We teach
them how to lead and follow in the dance steps, which gives students the chance
to be in multiple roles. The objective of the class is to provide students a
chance to socialize with other students and to teach culture of America through
dance. Many of the students have never danced this particular way but after
practicing for a few weeks on the basic step, they become naturals. When there
is a new student who comes to the class, I ask another student to step up and
teach the basic step. It is great to see students go out of their comfort zone
to help their peers.
In February I was a chaperone for
the students of the National Honor Society to go to a nearby orphanage and paint
the buildings. The students that participate in this volunteer work are seniors
and high school. I decided right off the bat to put three students in charge
and these students did a great job getting the paint, buckets, and paintbrushes
for us. I encouraged the students to take a break every hour or so to go play
soccer with the kids who live at the orphanage. This volunteer experience has
taught me that helping students find their desire in helping others is very
important and that it is easy to find a local organization to volunteer at for
the students.
These volunteer opportunities are
few of many that I have been able to participate in the last four months. The
best thing that came out of this experience is seeing the students out of
school and talking to them about their passions, desires, and woes that I would
not necessarily get to hear about at school.
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