November Community Service- KIPP School

For the Month on November, I continued my service at the KIPP School. I love the flexibility of the hours and the staff is wonderful to work with. Since this is the second month I have worked here I am much more familiar with the layout of the school and much more comfortable doing the tasks I am assigned. The more I work here, the more I learn about the KIPP School, what it stands for, and the community around it. They have special rooms where they place kids that have some anger management issues. Sometimes, the best thing to do for these kids is to allow them to let everything out. Keeping anger and other aggressive moments pent up only makes things worse on the long run. Its only a matter of time before the emotions accumulate like soda in a shook soda can, and explode with often catastrophic consequences. That's why I believe it is better to let out the emotions sooner before they become too powerful.

I have also learned about how much attention the KIPP School pays to the students. They have special focus groups for students struggling in certain classes, such as English and Math. These students are taken to a different room and work with a tutor until every student is comfortable with the material being covered in class. It is just another aspect of the school that shows me how committed the school is to making their students master and enjoy learning new things. Since many of the students come to the school from tough circumstances at home I think it is extremely valuable for them to be allowed to learn at their own pace, and get individual attention. The faculty must be patient and diligent if they have these types of focus groups to help their children excel, and I bet that means so much to the kids. If their intellectual curiosity is stimulated in their early years, it will dramatically increase their chance to be life-long learners that are able to achieve upward socioeconomic mobility.

I hope that going forward with my service, I will have more opportunities to meet and understand the children at the KIPP School and do my part to help them work toward their dreams.

November Service Hour total: 12

Total Service Hours for the semester: 24

October Community Service- KIPP School

For the month of October, I turned my eyes inward to the young people of New Orleans. I volunteered for KIPP, a local school for economically disadvantaged children. At this school 80% of the student body is under the poverty line. The school provides uniforms and free lunches. They also have a bus system that brings about 800 children to and from school everyday, because many of the students' families are unable to provide their own transportation. I was amazed at how well-maintained and run the school was. It's wonderful that schools such as this one are broadening the horizons of children and opening doors that may have remained closed for them otherwise. Many classrooms had a college name associated with them such as Vanderbilt or Johns Hopkins. In my opinion, this is a great way to challenge the students to obtain a top-tier education. I believe this sort of spirit should be cultivated from a young age. Every student deserves a chance at upward mobility and this school helps the children of NOLA get that chance.

Additionally, I felt nostalgic as I was volunteering at this school. I had fond memories of perusing over the same books and comics these children were reading as part of their curriculum. My duties included sorting books and school supplies, and hanging up decorations around the building. I felt privileged to do my part in helping these children succeed.

October Total Hours: 6
Overall Hour Total: 12

September Community Service- American Cancer Society Ball

This month was my first taste of community service in New Orleans. I had never volunteered for the American Cancer Society before, so I thought this would be a good chance to try something new! Setting up for the ball in the afternoon involved sorting gift bags, setting up tables, and moving furniture around for the big night. The picture at the bottom left is the group of us volunteering for the afternoon shift. The other two pictures are of me at the night shift. During the ball, I had my hands full setting the tables for the patrons and just making sure everyone was okay. Overall, it was a great experience. The people I was working with were all extremely personable and easygoing, especially during the ball. I was in awe at how much money was raised for the Hope Lodge, we're talking thousands of dollars. It was really heartwarming to see everyone's determination to give and make a tangible difference in the fight for cancer. So far, I have 6 community service hours for the semester. I can't wait to see what other exciting service opportunities are in store for me in the city of New Orleans!

September Hour Total: 6 hours

Overall Hour Total: 6 hours

Welcome! Tulane MS Pharmacology 2018- Community Service

Hello! This is the blog I will use throughout the year to show everyone my community service around the city of New Orleans. Look out for a post every month or so. Glad to have you along on this journey with me!