Weekend Visit

This weekend was a good one for me, in that the week leading up to it was a very hectic one, but the weekend was much more relaxed. That's because I was fortunate enough(or unfortunate, depending on how you look at it), to have been cast in two one act plays that the drama club put on this past Friday. However, that did mean a lot of work for me this week, as we had a lot of rehearsal time in order to make sure everything was top notch for the performances, and that meant twice the amount of time as others that were only involved in one. I had many nights of coming from work, grabbing a quick bite to eat, and then going to rehearsal for a few hours before I could even think about starting my homework. That's not to say I'm complaining, as I wouldn't have signed up for this if I didn't love it.
Thankfully, all that hard work was not for nothing, as the plays turned out wonderfully, and the audience loved them. Particularly the second one I was in, which was a spoof of the Harry Potter series in which we attempted to tell the entire story in 40 minutes. I played Hagrid and Dumbledore, and it was great fun. Following the good vibes of a good performance, I was also lucky enough that my parents came up to see them, and then visit for the weekend. Though it had only been a week since I saw them laat, it was still nice after this stressful week to have a taste of home. We toured all around the greater Burlington area, enjoyed the outdoors while we still could, ate some delicious food, and had a nice time. It was really something I needed, especially right before the last week of classes and with finals right around the corner, as it gave me peace of mind, and will help me focus on what needs to be done before I can get back home.

Problem Walk

Yesterday, in my placement at Winooski High School, we did an interesting activity that I had never experienced before. The students in the Community Based Problem Solving class were brought on a walk around Winooski, given a post it note and a pen, and told to write down any problems that they saw. The idea was to get students thinking about ways to improve their community, as the next step in the class is to move on from making change within the school, to making change in the community. What better way to realize what can be changed, than to get out into the thick of it, and see what is needed to be done?
The students' ideas ranged from reducing the amount of litter found in the area, to making some of the buildings more beautiful, to increasing parking spaces for the school, to improving sidewalk coverage in the area, and much more. The students, having been members of the community for quite some time, definitely were able to find a lot that they could improve. At the end of the walk, each student said one thing that they noticed, perhaps to jog ideas for other students in the future.
This walk got me thinking, not in the way of searching for problems and intending to fix them, but helping me to realize that this is definitely something I am interested in. That is, giving young adults the tools that they need to help make a change in their own lives and in their community, and whatever kind of work that entails both on my end and theirs. I would love for it to have some sort of conservation focus, as I do care a great deal about ecosystems and the like, but really anything relating to improving the world is something I would like to be involved in. I'm not sure where I could accomplish this, but I know this is something that needs to be involved in whatever I end up doing with my life, whether career based or on the side.

Where to go?

Yesterday, as per my usual weekly routine, I found myself in Winooski High School, in the Community Based Problem Solving Class. I greatly enjoy my time spent in this class, and I find myself wishing I could attend it multiple days, but unfortunately my schedule does not allow it. Therefore, I must make the most of it while I am there. I feel as if I am integrating into the class, and am not excited for the end of the semester, when I will no longer be able to be a part of it. For the time being, I will not consider that possibility though.
As usual, I was bouncing around the classroom, going from student to student, and determining what they needed assistance with. Whether it be guidance back on the track for work, formatting their blog, proofreading a post, or helping with creating titles. I really enjoy it, because I like interacting with all the different personalities, and helping out in whatever way I can. My previous experience at Winooski had me questioning if I wanted to be a classroom teacher, as I was unsure if I wanted to deal with unruly students, and do all these large lectures. I still feel that way, but now I am no longer writing off the experience of working with high school students. Either this is a particularly well-behaved group of high schoolers, or I was too quick to judge in my previous experience. Regardless, I know that I would not necessarily want to teach in a traditional classroom setting, but there is something to be said for teaching in a place like the iLab, where the content is more open-ended, and the structure is completely different. That is something I am looking for, as though I like the idea of working in a place like a science museum, I want a sense of community. I want to have a reliable connection with those I am working with, and not to just meet individuals once and then be done with them. I need to explore more options to know where I can find an experience like this, but my time at Winooski is definitely confirming that this is what I want.

MOVE Meeting

This Saturday, I found myself with a slew of activities to keep myself busy, which after a week of activity, was exactly what I needed! But honestly, my day yesterday, though busy, was a great one overall, and I wouldn't have changed anything about it.
I unfortunately woke up early, which as anyone who knows me knows, is not something I enjoy doing when I do not have to. However, I woke up early(relatively speaking, it was 8:45), because I had to go to a MOVE core team meeting. These meetings happen once a semester, and the point is to give the leaders of various programs, such as myself, an opportunity to learn about different service opportunities in the community, and to provide some sort of development as both and current and future leaders. Yesterday, we learned about ANEW place, a place that provides temporary housing for the homeless in the Burlington community, as well as many other services. The big takeaway for this presentation was a new social media campaign that ANEW is attempting to create, and that is giving a story to the homeless in our community. The speaker emphasized that what she finds most engaging about her line of work, are the stories of the individuals she comes into contact with. Not only how they got where they are, but where they want to go, and when they are able to leave ANEW and go off on their own, the story of how they got to that point. It is an attempt to illuminate the fact that the homeless are people just like the rest of us, and that the stigma applied is not always fair.
This idea of combating stigma carried throughout the meeting, as in the breakout session I attended, we looked at pictures of individuals, and then read a short paragraph written by that individual which answered the question, "Who are you?" The idea being, that just by looking at someone, you can't always tell what is going on with them. Extending beyond the concept of what struggles they may be facing, which is the usual point to be made, but really the person as a whole. What their dreams are, who they care about, what they're afraid of, what their favorite things are, what they dislike, what makes that person who they are. We were challenged to answer the question ourselves, and I found myself struggling with what to put down. How does one define themselves in a paragraph, and accurately describe everything that makes them who they are? I ended up writing about how I relate to others, and what I value in myself and in the world. However, what was important was that it got me thinking.
This semester has been challenging for the Afterschool Games Core Team, as we have hit a great deal of road blocks in carrying out our program, and it is currently not running. As the only returning member of the team, the two new members look to me for guidance, and one in particular is questioning if he should have been chosen as a leader in the first place. However, I know that he is a great team leader, not only as he is a close friend, but because the three previous members, myself and the two that left, were very impressed with what he had to bring to the table. I let him know that, and it seemed to put him in a better mood. I know that we have been struggling, and that personally I wish I could have done more to prevent these issues, and to have the program running. However, we are not giving, and though this semester saw some challenges, we are fighting to be ready for next semester, and to start off much more strongly than if we had begun when we initially wanted to. It may be tough, but everyone is up for the challenge, and we will improve this program.

Home of the Brave

This past week, I was able to get the chance to read Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate, which was an interesting read on the life of a boy from Africa who comes from a refugee camp and is resettled into Minnesota. This book was suggested to me by my professor, after my previous blog post of talking to a student about seeing snow for the first time, as that is an experience that is common to refugees, and is the opening scene in this particular novel.
I greatly enjoyed the novel, and I do not want to go into too much detail about it, as the book lover in me would prefer that people read it unspoiled and get to experience everything the way that I did. With that being said, I highly recommend reading Home of the Brave, regardless of whether one will be doing work with refugees, as it is a short enough read with a large enough impact for everyone to be able to get something out of it. I know it greatly impacted myself, having been working with many refugee students over the past year, as it opened my eyes to their struggles in a way.
I guess I've always known that to be a refugee, one has to have had a bad living situation to come from. But I never really thought about the details, why they ended up leaving, what it was like where they came from, who they left behind, who they may or may not be coming to be with, what it's like adjusting to an alien environment, and more. This novel caused me to think more in depth about those situations. I know I will never know the exact situation for all of the students that I am coming into contact with, but it helps me to remember that there is a great deal I do not know. There are things I need to be sensitive about, and things I need to understand, because I will never be able to say that I can relate, as growing up in the suburbs of Massachusetts, I really do not know what it's like to live in poverty, or to have to deal with an evil government, or to leave family behind, perhaps indefinitely. I cannot ever truly relate, but I can grasp the concept. Many times, students need someone to be able to understand where they are coming from. I'm not saying this novel changed my life, and taught me everything about the issues of being a refugee, but it's a start, and everyone has to start somewhere.

Boys and Girls Club

Having done volunteer working with the Boys and Girls Club in the past through MOVE, I very much appreciate their overall mission.

Their mission, "To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens."- Boys and Girls Club of America

This is something I am greatly interested in, as I want to be able to provide mentorship to the youth of the world, but in a way that is due to building strong relationships.This can be seen through all of the staff at the Boys and Girls club, as through both their general philosophy, and my experience with the club, they tend to hire dedicated individuals that want to shape the world in a positive way. In fact the first Boys Club was started in 1860 by three women that believed the boys in their community deserved a safe alternative to roaming the streets and causing trouble. They focused on character building, and used a socially scientific system to promote development towards a successful, productive, future. This is reflected in the Boys and Girls Club code:

"I believe in God and the right to worship according to my own faith and religion.

I believe in America and the American way of life…in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

I believe in fair play, honesty and sportsmanship.

I believe in my Boys & Girls Club, which stands for these things."

The ideals enumerated in this code are reflected in all of the programs that the club provides. They run the gamut, from programs to develop character and leadership through service, to providing extra help in education and preparing students for college or other future endeavors, developing into responsible young men and women, learning safe internet usage and how to build healthy relationships, teaching various forms of artistic expression, such as drama or fine arts, and providing opportunities for sports and other forms of recreation. There are a great deal of experiences provided to the youth of any community.

The breadth of the Boys and Girls club spreads across the nation, serving more than 1,140 independent organizations that in turn serve over 4,100 different locations, all under the blanket organization of the Boys and Girls Club. There is a large diversity in both the age and ethnicity of the youth that are served by the Boys and Girls Club.

All in all, the Boys and Girls Club is definitely a place I could see myself working. I greatly enjoy all of the possible ways in which I could connect with a multitude of people, and it also would give me a chance to be greatly involved in my community, something I am always looking to do. I would still be able to live my own life, while providing necessary experiences for those who wish to gain them, and that is a good thing to do.

Tales from a High School Sophomore

Today, I found myself again in the Community Based Learning class, and it was a great improvement over weeks past. I originally tended to be a bit more reserved in interacting with others in that class, finding myself as more of a passive observer than an active participant. This changed in the week previous, as I was able to use my skills to assist students in forming their own blogs, and making edits to their work. Again, I found myself doing this kind of work, and it was nice to be able to dive right back into it. The students seem to be very comfortable with my presence, which is nice, as I have only been able to visit a few times, and have wondered if I have made any sort of impact.
Again, I was not only able to complete this task, but connect with students as well. Especially one student, who was busy scraping her nail polish design off of her phone case(the students at Winooski are allowed to have their phones in class), and I asked her if she had designed it herself. That opened up a whole discussion, where she told me about her habit of taking clothing and turning it into something else, such as turning a pair of jeans into a purse. Every time I would have no one to work with, she would come up with some other thing to tell me, like her trick or treating habits, how much she hates basketball, and how she knows she will be friends with someone if she initially hates them(which is related to her hatred of basketball). This girl is very funny, and I greatly enjoyed my conversations with her, even if they were not the most topical.
Afterwards, I was talking to one of the teachers of the class about my experience, and I highlighted my conversation with the girl. He was impressed that she was so congenial in our discussion, as though she normally is very outgoing, she had been having a tough day and was not in a good mood at the beginning of class. This was strange for me to hear, as I had no idea that she was feeling bad before. It is possible that other factors caused her to be in a better mood, but I like to think that I at least played some part. It is nice to know that even just one conversation can change around a person's entire day, and to know that I have the power to do that is a wonderful bit of knowledge.

The Snow

Today at Winooski High School, I again found myself in the Community Based Learning Class. The students are currently working on blogging about their experience in attempting to change facets of their school, whether it be the cafeteria food or building access. The class has moved on to less of a lecture/teaching based class, and is instead focused more on independent work with guidance from the teachers. That is what I find myself doing during my time in the class, discussing general concepts with the students and providing both grammatical and general feedback on their blog entries.
Today I was working with one student that was blogging about his experience with being unable to access the building before seven thirty AM. There are no bus services for the students, so they either must be driven, or walk to school. His situation is such that he must walk to school each day. This is not as much a problem in the warmer weather, where it may only be a six or seven minute walk, but in the frigid cold, it can take him upwards of fifteen minutes simply to get to the school. And then he tends to be stuck waiting for another fifteen minutes until the doors open and he can come inside. This issue is obviously very important to him, and it can been seen un how seriously he takes all aspects of this assignment, including the blog.
What struck me the most was that last winter was his first experience with the concept of winter. Winooski has a very large refugee population, such that the student body of the high school is very diverse, and come from all around the world. Many have grown up in Africa or South Asia, and have not experienced such cold temperatures. This was interesting to me, as having grown up with cold winters my whole life, I was intrigued by the concept of first experiencing winter. He told me that he liked the cold, but was not a huge fan of the snow. He told me a great deal about his experience with the cold and the school, and it was nice to just sit and chat with a student that had such a different background than my own. Though there was no great depth to the conversation, it was still a chance to form a connection. You don't start off your first conversation with a person by discussing politics, you talk about things like the weather. That is where it begins, and you can go from there. It was especially nice for me, as I haven't gotten the chance to connect with many of the students at Winooski, so to have this experience helped me learn that connections need not always be deep to have great meaning, but that many things can have some form of impact.

Outward Bound

"Outward Bound delivers programs using unfamiliar settings as a way for students to experience adventure and challenge in a way that helps participants discover that they can do more than they thought possible. Outward Bound helps individuals and teams discover strength of character and an aptitude for leadership needed to serve others in their community and care for the world around them."

Last semester, I went on the LEAP retreat here at Saint Michael's College. It was a wonderful experience, and there were many aspects of it that have stuck with me. Relevant to this aspect of my life though, was my discussion with a man that was there with his wife to give a talk on their marriage. In that talk, one thing that stuck out to me was that a challenge they faced in their marriage was that he spent his summers working with Outward Bound, a program that teaches leadership and self-discovery in a natural setting. It was a challenge for them, as the two spent many weeks apart, but they were strong enough to both make it through.
However, what intrigued me the most was the idea of a program like Outward Bound, as it seems to be something that combines a great deal of concepts that I am interested in. Having been a Boy Scout, I greatly enjoy any chance to get out into nature, as evidenced by one of my personal goals. I also like having the chance to work in a smaller group setting, as I feel that is one of my great strengths, connecting with individuals on a personal level. 
Outward Bound prides itself on instilling certain ideals in those who undertake their challenge. It is designed to challenge and create adventure, to give students a chance to learn by experience, and to do all this in a supportive environment. Outward Bound values compassion, integrity, excellence, inclusion, and diversity. By the end of the program, students should have an increased strength in leadership and character development, as well as a greater desire to serve. All of these aspects of the educational model are very important to me, as again it was something that was instilled in me through my time in the Scouting program. I think learning by doing is the best way to learn anything, and the strengths gained on a trip like this are innumerable. I am especially interested in the programs for students with varying challenges, such as grieving teens or other at-risk teens. To have the opportunity to help out students that are struggling in such a way would be well worth the challenges I may face in working for Outward Bound.

Nature Walk with Mom

This weekend I was also lucky enough to be able to go for a visit to the South Shore Natural Science Center with my mother. Growing up, my mother would always take my younger brother and I on nature walks around the area, and the Science Center was always one of our favorite places to go. Not only because of all the trails,but because of the different animals you could see, like a Red-tailed Hawk, or an Iguana. There is also a greenhouse with all kinds of exotic plants, like pitcher plants and different cacti.
I always appreciate getting the chance to get out into nature, as it tends to give one a different perspective. In the quiet of nature, there is a total removal from all troubles and concerns that one may be contending with. To share this time with others is even greater, as it helps the two focus on each other, as they are together and away from all others. I haven't really been taking enough time to get into nature, and this is something I hope to continue in the coming semester.

Trip Home

This weekend, I was lucky enough to get a chance to head home for the Saint Mike's long weekend, something I definitely needed. It had been over two months since I last saw home, and all the sights and activities that accompanied it. To make things better, my younger brother, who has just started his first year at college, was also able to make it home for the weekend, though he had to leave Sunday evening to get back to school.
It was nice to be able to take a break from schoolwork, and focus on rejuvenating, something I struggle to find time for during school. A highlight was definitely getting to see my cats, and it was almost therapeutic. Lying down on the couch, with my cat Tuffy curled up on my chest, was a very calming experience, and lead overall to a calming weekend. I was able to take time to reflect on my position at school and in life, and what I could improve on upon returning to Saint Michael's in a few short days. I realized it is important to take time for myself, and though I enjoy being active, to not spread myself too thin. I haven't figured out what I'm going to do yet, but I know I will attempt to lighten my load in regards to commitments, so that I can stay sane throughout the semester.

Impact

While I am at school, I keep myself busy with both my studies and my work, my  job being that of working at an afterschool program in the neighboring community. The school I work at is for third through fifth graders, and I greatly enjoy working there. Having gone to an afterschool program myself when I was younger, I know how important this job is, and how much of an impact that the staff have on the children. I remember looking up to all of my afterschool program staff, thinking that they were great, and hoping to one day be like them. I guess that I have made it to that point, as the kids at the afterschool program let me know the impact that I have on them. One in particular, who I occasionally interact with, but he is normally only there two of the days I work, and tends to leave earlier than most, has shown me that I have impacted him. It came in the form of a simple, unprompted message,

"Zach, I wish that you were my older brother."

This has stuck with me ever since, as I was very touched by the sentiment. It really showed me that though my time with someone may be brief, it also can be very meaningful. You might reach people in ways you never know, until somewhere down the line they let you know just how important your actions were. That is something I hope I can continue to do.

Saint Michael's Open House

This weekend I was lucky enough to be able to participate in an open house for prospective students as a representative of the MOVE program. Anyone who knows me knows that MOVE(which stands for Mobilization Of Volunteer Efforts for the uninformed) is a large part of my life and something I take very seriously. Being involved with MOVE is what first gave me the knowledge that I wanted my life to have some form of community outreach, whether it be through my employment or my daily life, but preferably both.
I hadn't truly realized the impact MOVE has had on my life until the open house, when we were handing out these handy temporary tattoos. One of which I received last year, and have kept in my wallet ever since.

These three principles, the head, the heart, and the hand, have guided my actions in a way that I have not realized. They have caused me to examine everything I do. To think about why I am doing something. They cause me to look for the beauty in it all, and to find the passion in what I am doing. They cause me to take action, and to not just sit and let everything pass by. I realized on Saturday that my future needs to be the same. I need to think about what I am doing, if my heart is in it, and if so, I need to set out and do it. It really is something to live by.

Trip to Shelburne Farms

This weekend I was lucky enough to be paid a visit by my entire family, something I did not believe would happen so soon after my brother began his freshman year at a college in Boston. It's always nice to get the entire family together, I'm sure even much more so for my parents now that they are empty nesters. They were only able to make it up for Saturday into Sunday, due to my brother's class schedule, but it was very nice to have some time off campus and with people I have not seen since the end of August.
We decided to take advantage of the nice fall weather and take a trip to Shelburne Farms to enjoy the great outdoors. Though the foliage was not in it's prime yet, it was still a gorgeous view. We climbed to the top of a hill, and the view was breathtaking. My entire family having grown up in Massachusetts and living there ever since, are not used to the mountainous views, and even I agree that they are always something to see.

The view from atop the hill

 It's always nice to get back out into nature, and sometimes I forget to take time to appreciate the beauty of where I'm living. I may only be in Vermont until 2017, who knows where I'll go after graduation. Until then, I need to make sure I embrace what's all around me. I can't curl up into a ball and try to sleep through the seasons like this caterpillar does. I need to experience it.

Learning to make a blog

Here are the directions for making a blog.

Interestingly enough, the concept of developing a blog and writing posts has come up a lot recently in my life. First and foremost in this class obviously, as it is one of my assignments. One in which I need to post at least three times a week, twice detailing my endeavors in achieving my professional goals, and once covering my personal goals. This is not a new concept to me, as I had a blog in middle school, but looking back on it, it was much more scattered throughout my life, and there was nothing linking the posts together, other than the fact that all the posts centered around my life. In this case though, this blog will have a deeper meaning, as I will be able to look back on it while I am in this period of determining who I wish to become. This semester definitely has me standing at a crossroads, with many different paths I can go down, both in the short and long term, and this will help me figure it all out.

Additionally, this idea has come up in my placement at Winooski High School, where I visit a class each Monday that is centered around community based outreach. That is, the students have identified various issues that the student body is facing, and they are working to remedy them. This is the pilot for this course, as nothing like it has been taught before at Winooski. For their first year, the students are tackling the issue of unappetizing school lunches, and difficulty accessing the school building during times of need(such as after sports practice or arriving too early on those cold Vermont mornings). Each student is to keep a blog of their progress throughout the year, following a specific format. Mainly that there are three key pieces to a successful blog and then the following posts:
1. Introduce who you are
2. Introduce the topic you will be blogging about
3. Why is that topic important to the reader?

For their first blog post, the students focused on introducing themselves, and discussing which issue they are working on and why. I was able to read all their posts and experience their points of view. I suppose that is the point of this blog, not only for myself, but for others to be prompted to do their own searching, until they find themselves.