What I do

For the past 4 years, I have been working with University Service Learning, building my resume, learning professionalism, and developing operational and managerial skills, but very few people understand what my full job entails. Like all jobs I imagine, a job is never as simple as the title would suggest. For clarification for myself and those who know me, this is what I do.

I oversee and organize 3 after-school mentoring and tutoring programs for children living in poverty and attending title I schools. The tutors and mentors that provide the one-on-one service to these k-8th graders are all ASU students receiving a Federal Work Study grant that requires them to work in order to receive portions of financial aid, or these students are taking a service learning course.

America Reads

America Reads is the grant name created by the Clinton Administration that allows college students to receive financial aid through working for educational programs for children in low income areas. As part of America Reads we provide ASU students from all different educational backgrounds to become educators and role models. Each day the mentor works one-on-one with 3 children creating fun hands on activities. It is my job to ensure that these mentors are properly trained to create hands on activities, develop daily lesson plans, and protect the children from harm. It is also my responsibility to manage the Supervising team that oversees the daily operations of America Reads.

Community Liaison

Each day tutoring and mentoring is carried out at different community centers. I specifically work with the Salvation Army and their community center. I am apart of their advisory board and work with other organizations that use the Salvation Army as a place for holding programs for populations in need. I am also in responsibility of working with 4 different schools in recruiting children to the program, working with teachers in being a resource to reinforce their curriculum, and working with the administration in better serve their schools.

University Service Learning

For the ASU students who do not receive Federal Work Study, they can join the program by taking a Service Learning course. This is my favorite part of the organization. By definition service learning must encompass 2 aspects: 1) must be a course based educational activity and 2) must participate in a service activity that meets an identified community need. Service Learners at ASU must complete approximately 100 hours of service in a semester and must attend a weekly lecture that involves discussion of justice issues (immigration, teaching English Language Learners, poverty, health care, etc.). As part of my job, I am required to fill in for instructors when they can not attend class, and grade reflections and papers.

I offered little to know reflection in this blog post because as I wrote down my work expectations, I became overwhelmed in how to portray my job to outsiders. I am passionate and excited about certain elements of my job, that my audience will just have to wait for further disclosure of what it is I do.