Stories
Caitlin learned from a pink backpack. Read her story here.
Senior Reflections Spring, 2009
Kellen Andrew Booher '2009
As a native English-speaker who has studied Spanish for years and traveled in
Ecuador, I understand that a new language doesn't come easy. This certainly applies
to the English language, a language with complex grammatical and syntax rules
that often times don't make sense to those of us who were born speaking it.
Thus, when adults at the ESOL class in Newark learn that it is "an apple,
not a apple," or that the past tense of take is "took, and not
tooked," these moments are recognized for what they are: the small
victories, the breakthroughs that lead to bigger and better things such as
sentence diagramming or the complex world of the subjunctive! :)
Perhaps the most vivid memory I have, though, of any one student's achievements
while we have volunteered at CTEC was that of In-suk regaling the teachers with
stories of her recent vacation. On a night when no students showed up but
In-suk, she happened to bring an envelope with pictures of her family's trip to
the Caribbean. As she started speaking, her speech was somewhat broken; she
stumbled over a verb tense here, struggled with an idiom there. But her
infectious laughter soon broke out and she gave us a guided tour via her
pictures of her family; the tour quickly turned into a spoken memoir, as it
were, of her life. She spoke of South Korea and of first meeting her husband,
of her subsequent decision to stay behind for one year while he worked in the
US, and finally of her two grown children, where they had gone to school, what
she had taught them growing up, and the string of daily events that makes up 30
years lived in a foreign country.
Suddenly, we became aware of the fact that In-suk had been speaking
continuously for close to two hours. We had been so engrossed in her pictures
and her life, had asked so many probing questions, that we had been completely
swept up in her story. Her English wasn't perfect and she frequently stopped to
pause over her wording, to grasp for a near-forgotten vocabulary word. But for
two hours, she held captive 4 native English speakers using their own language.
For a native speaker, a two hour conversation might seem almost banal, but for
In-suk and for those of us present, it was an extremely special night. That she
could effectively articulate thoughts, emotions, and details in English was
quite an accomplishment, and has certainly been the highlight of my time spend
volunteering at CTEC.
I truly hope the program continues in future years; it may seem like a simple
thing to sit with someone and practice grammar exercises or to translate from
Latvian to English, but the confidence that comes with mastering a new
language, even after 30 years--in In-suk's case-- is something quite special.
Erica Lynn Phillips '2009
There's nothing quite as affirming as having an elementary schooler run up to
you and give you a big hug for no reason other than that you are at their
school to read just with them. Since books were an essential part of my
childhood, I love to see young kids diligently working to improve their reading
skills and being excited about it. One of my students even told me he was
working hard to be a better reader because he wanted to be able to read Harry
Potter all by himself. Such motivation is inspiring.
Yet it can also be disheartening at times when a student is three years behind
in their reading level and struggling in all areas because of this deficiency.
But what else am I there for but to work with the student to improve that?
Their hard work makes me work all the harder to keep up with them.
The enthusiasm of the kids is contagious. You can't help but be infected.
Working with Ohio Reads has been a constant part of my experience at Denison
since I began it my freshman year. Becoming involved with it was the beginning
of my interest in DCA, an interest which has since expanded but has never left
Ohio Reads. Service has been a constant throughout my entire college
experience. As I tell my friends - "It's just what I do, just like you
play sports or are involved in Greek life or have a radio show, I
volunteer.
Caitlin Hays Schroering '2009
I remember making “the world” –a big exercise ball
covered in paper mache, painted like a globe with red ribbons on it to
represent the number of HIV cases globally—during one of my first meetings for
the Student Global AIDS Campaign freshman year…
I remember attending chair meetings and enjoying hearing about what other
groups were doing and sharing SGAC’s events…
I remember making signs and banners for SGAC, Make a Difference Days and I’m
sure a few other things…
I remember the election of 2008 and how DCA , DPA and the Activism in
Printmaking class partnered together to educate students about the different
candidates’ stances on various important issues…
I remember always enjoying going to the DCA office and seeing Susie, Roberta,
Jenny, Michele and Laurel—and of course inevitably running into several other
people I knew.
Over the course of four years, I have a lot of memories that involve DCA,
because a lot of my time and energy has been put into DCA, mostly through SGAC,
but also some hours for Make a Difference Day, Big Red’s Big Day, the Humane
Society and Habitat for Humanity. Collectively, all of these memories
make up a huge part of my experience at Denison, and my time here would
certainly not have been as meaningful or busy without DCA. Like
everything that I have done over the course of four years at Denison, my
involvement with DCA has shaped my experiences here, my views on the world, and
my plans for the future. I think that DCA is a really wonderful concept and
campus organization. I believe in the need to be a part of a community and to
work with people in a community to create the change that I wish to see, and I
think that this is the vision behind DCA.
Fiona
Eloise Baker '2009
One Monday evening when I arrived at New Beginnings I recognized one of the boys and his younger sisters as students from Par Excellence. Then I realized that during my junior year I had tutored him with A-TEAM. At A-TEAM we sometimes try and imagine what the students’ home life is like, but we never imagine domestic violence. In the few seconds after I recognized the boy, so much made sense. No wonder he was having trouble completing his homework at home.
The experience really made me think about how difficult it
must be for children to go to school and dealing with domestic violence. Throughout my volunteering at New Beginnings
I knew that the children attended school but, it wasn’t until I had first had
experience that I really started to think about it.
Christilyn
Jeanai Nailing '2009
My group was the first one to go, and it included Ellie Thompson, Corey
Ackerman, Lisa Schilansky, and myself. We left at 7 in the morning (for me,
that was extremely early), and we volunteered until noon. The other SGAC
group left campus at 8:30 in the morning. We helped Lifecare Alliance move some
of their pantry food and furniture from one facility to another and we helped
them to package weekly meals and snacks for those that were to sick or weak to
leave their home.
This experience was definitely one of the most rewarding and memorable for me.
We were not only helping to ease the lives of those who needed assistance and
support, but we were also helping an organization that was designed to help
people. We were in turn helping others to help others, and I will never forget
that feeling of fulfillment. It is that feeling that gives me the additional
inspiration to want to make a change in our society. I have learned that
if we can just change or improve the life of just one person, our own lives
will not be in vain.
Caitlin
Frances Fondessy '2009
Michael, Anna and Emma moved into the shelter last summer. They never actually lived there when we were volunteering, but when August rolled around, and we were back in session, their mother still attended group and toted the three small children along. At first, none of them really talked. The oldest, Michael, warmed up to us pretty quickly though, and we knew from very early that we were going to build a lasting relationship with this family. But neither of the girls talked for months. Anna had just turned three, Emma was just over a year, and neither one of them uttered a sound. Week in and week out, we saw these kids. After a while, they came to every field trip, and we grew close to them. And yet, we still took silent little girls; I was beginning to wonder if they even knew how to talk. Miraculously, we bridged the gap of winter break and staying in contact with the family. At this point, we’ve been taking these kids with us for four months, and you can imagine the relationship we have with them and their mother. Anna started to talk, but only when asked a question—and all of her responses, one word answers. What’s your favorite color? Greemb, she said. Do you go to school? Yes.
Then, in February, their mother asked me to babysit, to come to their home. I’d tread those waters before, and I didn’t come out so well. My head was saying DO NOT GO TO THEIR HOUSE, but my heart was saying something completely different. Going to their home that day was one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life. The apartment was cluttered, but not dirty: toys strewn here and there, a few shoes on the floor. Nothing about the apartment really surprised me until Anna began to talk. “Do you want to see my room? Bubby sleeps in there too. I have a princess blanket. Oh and here are my toys. But the ones in the blue box are Bubby’s. Do you want to read a story? I like this one about Ariel,” and on and on she went. I couldn’t keep up. Anna would NOT stop talking.
That day, I learned both about myself and about the people I work with. I learned that although leaving the bubble of volunteering at the shelter put me in a precarious position, it was also highly rewarding. I babysat five kids that day and made about three dollars an hour—not exactly the going rate around here. Anna still doesn’t stop talking, and you’d think that something a lot more drastic had happened. She smiles at the shelter, interacts with the volunteers, and talks and talks. And Emma, she’s got some things to say now too… So I guess the point of my story, of most of my DCA related stories, is that service surprises you. I’d been trying to talk to Anna for months, and she just needed me to come to her.