A small group of Northwestern students relive their grade school days every week.
About eight NU students regularly volunteer at Washington Elementary School in Evanston with Youth Organizations Umbrella, Inc., a nonprofit youth development agency based in Evanston. According to its Web site, the group aims to provide all youth with “the skills and opportunity to participate in the community.”
The NU students work with third, fourth and fifth graders, serving as both mentors and tutors to their younger counterparts.
Kathryn Anderson, one of Washington’s three NU site coordinators, volunteers regularly. She said one of her favorite students to work with is a third-grade boy she met this past October.
“Every time I come in, he pretends he needs help with his homework so that I’ll come spend time with him,” the SESP sophomore said.
Weinberg senior Dan Hegeman, another coordinator, said his favorite part of volunteering is the excitement of the elementary students when they see him.
“It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s nice to get off campus and take an hour and a half break once a week.”
Hegeman began working with the program his sophomore year after hearing about it from one of his friends. He said volunteering on a regular basis has allowed him to develop bonds with the Washington students.
Last year, the program reached the fifth and final year of its initial 21st Century Community Learning Grant through the No Child Left Behind Act. The coordinators’ concerns were put to rest when the grant was renewed for another five years.
“It was such a relief because a lot of the teachers weren’t sure what kind of program would be available to the kids if we didn’t receive funding,” said Leticia Lemus, site coordinator for the program at Washington Elementary.
Lemus and two adult volunteers are present each day to help out. But she said the college students really serve as the backbone of the program.
“They have more exposure with the kids so they have a greater impact,” she said. “They serve as role models the kids can look up to. A lot of kids in the program don’t have parents who went to college, so working with Northwestern students gives them a different perspective.”
The third site coordinator, Ebonee Tinker, has volunteered with children since high school.
She said she enjoys learning from the Washington students.
“They’re really honest about everything, even if it hurts my feelings,” the Communication junior said. “The first day I went to the site, I met this girl. She was like, ‘Do you use chapstick?’ And she told me that my lips were really chapped, and I needed some. I was like, ‘Okay. Thanks.'”
Anderson said students interested in joining Y.O.U. can contact any of the three site coordinators via e-mail. Transportation to the tutoring sessions is provided by the program.
“We volunteer for a quick hour or so and then come back,” Anderson said. “It’s a nice opportunity to get away from campus and spend some time with kids who are really energetic and excited.”[email protected]
