I began my volunteer work at my
local church at the beginning of October. Every Sunday evening I get to hang
out with high school students for 2.5 hours. The group is called 4:12, which is
a community-building, Christian group that includes all who would like to join
us in having fun and learning about God and the Bible. We play games such as
walleyball (a different form of volleyball), basketball, bouncey-ball racing,
Psychiatrist (an observation game), and many more games that require teamwork
and communication. After some fun activities, the students listen to a short presentation
about a section in the Bible and then discuss the topic by giving their opinion
and relating it to their own life.
My role as a volunteer at 4:12
contributes to the following key aspects of the night: community, teaching, and
mentoring. To help create a sense of community between the students and
volunteers, I welcome all new students and stick with them the most of the
evening to help them feel like a part of the group, which creates an
environment to thrive socially. Also I make sure to touch base every week with
students that I have connected with in the past to be continually involved in
the student’s life. A few weeks I have been in charge to create games that
promote friendship and teamwork such as humming idol and Psychiatrist.
My role in teaching the students is
on a small scale and is done in a group setting. Another volunteer and I take
on a co-teaching model when discussing with the students on the topic for the
night. Questions are provided for us to ask but the chance to ask higher order
questions is given to us if we see fit. Many times unexpected but successful
conversations have come from leading conversations with open-ended questions
that were triggered by where the discussion was going. The night requires
working with other volunteers and this helps me learn how to communicate
clearly and affectively.
One of the things that I am most thankful
in this volunteer experience is being in the role of mentorship to the high
school students. It is hard to grasp what this looks like at 4:12 on Sunday but
it more spreads out to my role outside of the weekly meeting. I get the chance
to meet with a few girls every once and a while to have hot chocolate and talk
about life. This gives the girl students to share what is going on in their
life with regards to family, friends, and school. Most of the time I just
listen to what they have to say but I am honored to speak up when they do ask
me for advice on these subjects. I am grateful for this experience because I
want to learn on how to be a listening ear to students and if asked to give
advice on the tough subjects that many high school students encounter.
The students that I have worked with
in this volunteer experience reflect the Missoula community for the most part.
The Missoula County Public School District has many students on free and
reduced lunches, which reflects the economic diversity found in Missoula. Also
the students that attend 4:12 are from any of the three public high schools or
are home-schooled.
In all, these last few months
volunteering at Meadow View Church has prepared me even more to be a teacher.
The experience has given me opportunities to grow in my leadership and teaching
skills but more importantly has provided chances to get to know students at a
deeper level. I know that this volunteer experience will not imitate precisely
what a teacher’s role looks like in the classroom but I do know that the skills
I have acquired are very similar.
My volunteer
experience at Meadow View Church 4:12 over the last three months was a total of 20 hours.
Click Here to view this experience in an accessible word document.
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