Mentor Monday: Why I Serve
I serve at City Year Rhode Island because I am a product of Providence’s public schools. I was lucky enough to attend Nathanael Greene Middle School’s Gifted Program, and perhaps because of that, I got accepted at Classical High School, the most competitive exam school in the state. My younger sister and two younger brothers followed in my footsteps. I went on to get my bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies at Brown University, my sister currently attends the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and both of my younger brothers are seniors in high school.
I serve because I feel incredibly lucky that I and my family had these opportunities, and I want to do my best to ensure that as many of Providence’s children have access to the same opportunities I did.
-Emeline Allen
Mentor Monday: Why I Serve
I serve because I believe that a well-educated populace is essential to the success of a democracy. I was inspired to join City Year by my study of the Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787, specifically the debate over whether the new American confederation had the social structure necessary to allow for the implementation of a government of the people, for the people, and by the people. This is a question which has changed in form, but is still true in essence to this day. The United States has fallen behind other industrialized nations in most measures of education, and I believe that this gap is the foundation of many larger social ills, ranging from poverty to low voter turnout. I truly believe that the effect of City Year can and does ripple out beyond its stated goal of addressing the dropout crisis to positively affecting society as a whole.
A City Year corps members provides additional help in a middle school classroom.
While it was my intellectual interests and firm belief in the necessity of national service, of giving back, which prompted me to join City Year, that is not what keeps me going. While our service is undeniably challenging and draining at times, it is the personal connections I have made with the students which inspire me to give them my all every day. Seeing a sixth grader who has not begun to master even second grade math sharpens my focus from the larger societal implications of the failure of the education system to the devastating affect this failure will have on that student’s life. I know that my presence is making a difference in the lives of students, in their attendance, behavior, and course performance, and that my team’s presence is making a difference to the culture of the entire school. I can only hope that enough other young people will be similarly inspired to serve to make City Year’s presence felt across the nation.
- Laura Mills, Corps Member-Esek Hopkins MS
Why I love Providence
A City Year corps members sits in front of historic Providence City Hall during the 2011 mayoral inauguration.
When I first began my service at Esek Hopkins Middle School, while introducing myself to the students I would often mention that I was from Los Angeles and had just graduated from UCLA. When met with the news that had abandoned, as they saw it, the paradise of sunny Southern California for dreary old Providence, I was usually met with one exclamation; “But miss… why?!” Constantly explaining the reasons for my move has caused me to reflect on my feelings for my new home, and I realized that I have grown to love Providence, and Rhode Island.
The same ease of access and cultural and historic richness can be found throughout the region. The more touristy town of Newport, with the sprawling “summer cottages” built by Southern elites some hundred years ago, is an easy bus ride away. It’s even easier to take the commuter rail to Boston, where there’s an endless list of attractions. And for a U.S. History major like me, living in a place with so much history is just another reason I love Providence. Truly, I love everything about New England, from the accessibility to the food to the history present in this multicultural melting pot.
- Laura Mills, Corps Member- Esek Hopkins
Mayor Angel Taveras Visits Roger Williams Middle School
Last month, the new mayor of Providence, Angel Taveras, visited Roger Williams Middle School. Taveras came to Roger Williams to address the community but, having attended Roger Williams when he was growing up, Taveras must have been curious to see what his old school looked like so many years later. The bond between the Mayor and Roger Williams will hopefully be beneficial; the school has been classified as low performing in the past and is now a turnaround school. With a new principal, Brearn Wright, a highly dedicated City Year team, and about $800,000 of funding, the school is off to a good start this year.
photo courtesy of The Providence Journal: Mayor Taveras greets members of the Hasbro Team at Roger Williams Middle School.
Mayor Taveras began his visit to the school by greeting members of the Roger Williams staff, including Principal Wright, Assistant Principal Jen Vorro, several teachers, and City Year Rhode Island’s Hasbro Team at Roger Williams, who attended the event in full force. After shaking hands with the crowd, Mayor Taveras spoke passionately about his own experience at Roger Williams when he was a child, his plans and vision for the future, and his hopes for Providence’s public schools. Taveras’s commitment to education was evident.
The City Year Rhode Island team was pleasantly surprised and proud to be featured in a photograph with the Mayor printed in the Providence Journal on Saturday, January 15th.
-Emeline Allen
Mentor Monday: The Testimonial
I care about these kids.
Not too many people can say they have taken ten months of their life and dedicated it to service. Even fewer still have worked in middle schools, and struggling ones at that. It’s sad, really. Every story, every quote I’ve shared is pure, unadulterated truth. Sometimes, I just don’t know what to say. Try as I may to sympathize, my background just isn’t the same. A son of two Ph.Ds, living in small town Wisconsin for the majority of my life, I was a sheltered kid. When I first moved to Providence four and a half years ago, I was afraid to ride the city bus. Now, I am surrounded every day by kids who live in real poverty; they don’t get breakfast at home, all their clothing and backpacks are ragged hand-me-downs. Many have divorced parents, or parents who simply walked out.
Just five months ago, I never imagined doing this; I was ready to head off to college, leave my worries behind. But a combination of increasing financial concerns and growing self-doubt about my maturity saw me cancel my deposit to the University of Pittsburgh. When I first applied to City Year, I saw it primarily as an opportunity to strengthen my resume and earn some money for college. Little did I know, my life was about to take a dramatic turn for the better.
Today, I couldn’t imagine my life any other way. My co-workers are fantastic friends, and I am no longer the lazy, cynical person I was not so very long ago. Most of all, I honestly believe that I have already started to make a difference in the lives of not just one, but many middle schoolers at my school through helping in a classroom, giving kids extra support in English and giving them my undivided attention from the minute they walk into school until the minute they finish their after school program.
I may only be 450 of 1700 hours in, but I feel like a completely transformed person. Not too many people have the same privilege I have; to find something so incredibly right for them. If I believed in miracles, this would surely qualify. It may be an uphill battle, and I am not sure exactly what part I will play in the future, but consider me officially sworn to end the war on the dropout crisis and save our public schools.
I am thankful every day.
by: Belamy B-B.
Team Update Thursday: Memories of a first day at school
My last few moments as an eighth grade student were during the summer of 2000. As my life progressed over the past ten years, I never took a step back into a middle school again. That all changed on the first full day of service I experienced at Roger Williams Middle School four weeks ago. I wish there was a perfect word to describe exactly how I felt as I traveled a few steps further along my City Year journey that day. The fear of a disconnection between the students and myself was a great challenge I tried to coach myself through that morning.
I remember stepping onto the school yard. A mix of intimidation, excitement and anticipation fueled my system. I was still waiting for my confidence to kick in, and then it happened. As I made my way to the front entrance towards my teammates, I heard a voice shout “Yo, City Year!”. I turned my head towards the sound of the voice and saw a little boy who appeared to be in the middle of a spontaneous football game with a group of friends. He was wearing a black hooded sweater, stylish ripped jeans and the coolest Mohawk I‘ve seen in a while. He grinned from ear to ear at the sight of my eye-catching uniform. The boy sent a rush of energy my way through the form of a quick wave. His focus went right back to the game just in time as he avoided the rush of another young excited peer who was trying to steal the football from him.
Our brief interaction was a short but reassuring greeting. A greeting that made me realize the importance of my role in that child’s life and the commitment he would be expecting me to live by. For a few more minutes, I watched the students as they played and socialized among one another. The sound of the bell brought my focus back to the school. I walked through the front entrance of Roger Williams Middle School that morning with a realization of my potential, an understanding of my purpose and a heart full of pride.
By: Conceptia G.
T-Mobile Tuesday: CYRI helps out on the farm
On T Mobile Tuesday, we will be featuring pictures taken by Rhode Island Corps Members on the cell phones provided to them by T Mobile. Whether it be images of powerful physical service projects or the daily transformative work that takes place in their school, these pictures serve as snapshots of their everyday service.
On Saturday, November 20th, City Year Rhode Island volunteered their time to help out at Barton Dairy Farm in Warwick, RI. The farm is run by West Bay Community Action, an organization committed to assisting economically disadvantaged Kent County residents achieve and sustain self-sufficiency and stability. Corps Members helped to remove seasonal crops, expand available farming area, and cleared brush to make a trail through the farm. The Corps Members were joined by volunteers from the Kent County YMCA’s leaders club, Rhode Island for Community and Justice, Young Heroes alumni, and even a guest appearance from Warwick Mayor, Scott Avedisian!
Why I Serve
provided by Jason R.
I decided to dedicate a year with City Year because I believe fulfillment comes from a life spent in service of others. Ultimately, I want to improve people’s lives through a career in medicine. Until then, I know the work I do at City Year is making a real difference in the lives of the students I work with. Whether it’s helping out with homework, providing a safe, fun environment after school, or just being there every day to ask them how they are, I am able to provide my students with support that some of them don’t receive anywhere else.
Working directly with students at struggling schools in Providence has opened my eyes to the innumerable problems facing communities throughout the country. Despite these hardships, City Year has the capability of affecting real change. I don’t have any illusions that this change depends solely on myself, but I know that working with City Year will allow me to be a part of the movement that does turn around America’s school system. My efforts alone won’t change the world but it might mean the world to one person.
City Year Rhode Island Open House
Thinking about making a difference next year? Drop by the City Year Rhode Island Open House this Wednesday, May 5th.
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
77 Eddy Street, 2nd Floor, Providence, RI 02903
- Meet current corps members, alumni and staff
- Talk with people just like you who are seeking to make a difference in the community
- Learn about the application process and how to become a corps member
Can’t make it? Check out City Year’s Virtual Open House
A Reminder of Why I Serve
