The Clarke County Mentor Program works with 21 schools in the Clarke County school district. A mentor goes through an orientation and background check and then is matched up with a mentee at an elementary, middle, or high school. The Mentor Program has been in operation for 31 years and strives to help students grow in their academics, social, and personal lives. I was matched with my mentee Valery in February of 2018. Valery is a 5^th grader at Gaines School and is a native Spanish-speaker. Valery is a star student at her school; she is a member of the “Safety Patrol”, sewing club, reading club, and interior design club. 

The Pinewoods Library is a small library based out of a trailer in a mobile home community near Athens Technical College. It is run by two women who work tirelessly to bring opportunities to this community. There are many services offered at the library such as tutoring, gardening, ESL classes, and much more. It is essentially a gathering place for the whole community as it caters to both children and adults. All of the children that come for after school tutoring stay after completing their homework to play with each other and the tutors. 

U-Lead is an organization that caters mainly to high school age youth within the Hispanic community here in Athens. It aims to provide SAT and ACT preparation, aid in scholarship searches and their applications, college applications, and help with general homework. The organization meets every Thursday night from 6-8pm and also provides dinner. In addition to the once a week meetings, other activities are planned for the weekends. The youths involved are incredible leaders and show lots of initiative in what they choose to do. They organize and attend community events that increase the awareness and support of undocumented students in order to help those in similar situations. The organization also organizes trips to colleges on the weekends so that students may tour and get a feel for the places they might attend.

My experience at the Pinewoods Library has been wonderful. I have truly enjoyed getting to know the librarians, the children, and their families. Being there with them everyday after school has allowed me the opportunity to really get to know them. For example, one of the librarians is from Lima, Peru, and a few other tutors and I spent some extra time with her hearing about her family and seeing pictures from her most recent trip back. I have also gotten to know a few of the parents that come to pick up the children from the library every day. Tutoring there has offered me access to a community that I otherwise would not have met. Additionally, it has given me some insight into the school situations for children from Latino communities such as this one. Since I am interested in becoming a teacher, it is incredibly important to get to know and understand your students so that you can make connections in the classroom.

Volunteering at Pinewoods was one of the most impactful environments of my service learning. I befriended the librarian, Ms. Vicky, and she told me all of the backstories of the students I tutored and played with. Some of the students are poorly behaved which is the biggest complaint from volunteers at Pinewoods. However, you have to know the back stories and home lives of these children before passing judgement or writing them off as problem children. Pinewoods is where I have seen the greatest impact of immigration and deportation. One of the students at Pinewoods lives in a single wide trailer with her father, three sisters, and two nieces. Her entire family immigrated here to escape extreme poverty and violence in Honduras and to start a better life in America the “land of opportunity”. However, ICE deported her mother last November and her father cannot support the family and keep track of them all on his own. Therefore, the student refuses to do her homework and makes up excuses like: “We didn’t have any.” “I left it at school.” “I’ve already finished it.” Etc. If I did not know her backstory, I might have passed judgement about her that she was a bad student and unmotivated but, knowing her backstory, I know it’s because of her home life and citizenship status. There are so many more examples like this from Pinewoods but I think my biggest take away is to never judge someone by their actions because we don’t know their situations. Another takeaway is just the effects of our current immigration status and views towards immigrants and migrant labor. 

Volunteering at U-Lead on Thursday nights has been an incredible experience. It is an amazing organization that I had not even heard of until this semester. To be completely honest, I did not really think that I could help with the problem of undocumented students at universities. I thought that this was a political problem that could only be solved with legislation. However, I was completely wrong. There are tons of colleges and universities that, not only accept undocumented students, but provide very generous scholarships as well. Each week multiple students stand up during announcements to share the good news they have heard from universities and other organizations that provide scholarships. It has been eye-opening to see the positive difference that volunteers at this organization make on these young peoples’ lives.

My experience with U-Lead has been outstanding. I never knew that U Lead existed and how vital of a resource this program is to under/un documented students in Athens. There is a large Hispanic population in Athens that seems to be forgotten or ignored, U Lead is one program that tries to integrate them into the Athens community. One of the best experiences I’ve gained through volunteering at U Lead is helping students apply to colleges and scholarships. The excitement they get when accepted to a school or when granted a scholarship is greater than mine ever was. Most of these students are the first in their family to go to college and depend on scholarships to be able to afford schooling. Helping students achieve their dreams and better their lives is not only very self-rewarding but humbling as well. I already attend a university and am fortunate enough to have a family dynamic that is able to support me in achieving my degrees. It was never a question for me whether I would go to college and if I could afford it; watching and helping students accomplish the same goals I took for granted made me step back and realize how fundamental further schooling is to better your life.