Peake Partnership: Making a Difference
January 01, 2020
Originally I came to OBU to earn an education and play soccer. I had no idea how
much time I would have between soccer and studying, so I had not put a second thought
into getting involved in anything else. After adjusting to college and figuring out
how to really manage my time freshman year I decided that I would try to get involved
and use the free time I had more productively my sophomore year.
Early in the fall semester of my sophomore year I got an email with opportunities
to serve the community through the Elrod Center. I had participated in community
projects when I was in high school but I never had been involved in consistently serving
week-to-week. I decided to check it out and I ended up volunteering to participate
in Peake Partnership, a program that provides tutoring for the fourth and fifth graders
of Peake Elementary. I began tutoring two children in math for thirty minutes each
once a week.
At first it was frustrating. When dealing with children you must keep your patience and understand that they
may not comprehend what you are trying to teach them the first, second, or even the
third time around. Although I was there to teach them, I felt that I needed to learn
how to communicate effectively with each one before I could make a difference.
As each week passed I noticed the kids starting to feel more and more comfortable
around me. In turn I was learning how to help and teach them as I noticed how well
they responded to different methods. Each kid responds differently to similar situations—some
like being shown how to do example problems while some learn more by trial and error.
As I got better at my job they began to progress at a faster rate. Tutoring grew
less frustrating and more rewarding.
Watching their transformation throughout the year made the whole experience worth
the time. Receiving thank you letters from parents along with praise from teachers
made me feel like I was truly helping. Although I felt like I volunteered to make
a difference in their lives, at the end of the semester I had felt like they had been the ones making a difference in mine. They taught me how to communicate more efficiently and as I learned more about
them it helped widen my perspective of the community around me. I am now in my third
semester of Peake Partnership tutoring.
This experience has helped me grow as a person, but the rewarding feeling of watching
these kids progress towards their potential is the most rewarding part of this program.
Peake Partnership has allowed me to influence the community while improving my perspective
and that is why I am grateful to have been given this opportunity.
by Spencer Soles, junior Computer Science major
You Also Might Like
Recent
