I wanted to be a member of the sophomore service learning community because I want to be a part of something bigger than myself. In my freshman year, I participated in the Global Citizen Learning Community and in our 4th hour we discussed current ongoing issues happening around us. While becoming more aware of what is happening outside my Villanova bubble, I realized how very fortunate I am and how so many people sacrificed so much to enable me to be where I am today. I want to impact others' lives around me. I have spent every summer at a daycare working with kids from preschool to middle schoolers. I love helping out with the kids at the daycare because they teach me patience and perspective. I was honored to hear from several parents that I have become a mentor in their child's life.

This past semester, I have been volunteering at Boys and Girls Club in Wissahickon, helping kids with their homework after school. Besides the fact that it warms my heart the kids grab my hands and hug me when I walk into the room or crack me up with their creative jokes, what really makes me feel good is when I helped a struggling student not only finish his or her homework but help them understand their work. One Tuesday, I was helping a young boy, Amari, with his reading homework. Although the room was chaotic and busy, I was able to focus on him and help him with his reading. It saddened me that he was having difficulty with many common words from the reading such as "talk", but I realize that is why I am there. It is my job to help him understand how to pronounce these words, so he does not have trouble with them at school or in the future. As easy as it would be to just have him read it in his head and we figure out the questions, he would not get anything out of my help, he would still mispronounce words in his head and confuse homophones. For example, I had to explain to him the difference between "for" and "four". I made sure he read out loud to me the entire passages as well as the questions and answers for him to practice. Afterwards, we both felt accomplished! I was proud of him for being able to read the entire passage by himself, and it's moments like these that make me want to continue to serve and help one student at a time.