by Madelyn Alexander

I have had the opportunity to help a lot of senior students with their college applications. I LOOOOVE doing this! It takes me back to my senior year which wasn’t too long ago when I was in their exact position. And I love that I know exactly how to help them and what to say. It has also given me the chance to get to know these students more personally. It almost makes me want to become a teacher myself because I enjoy helping student academically and getting to know them through their academic work SO MUCH. But hat is besides the point. One thing that really sticks out to me is how much I’ve seen recurring students’ writing improve. It makes me feel like I am ACTUALLY helping them long term instead of with just one assignment.

My experiences in service learning so far has shown me just how fluid the writing process is. I see that the same student might approach similar writing assignments in different ways. I see how one bit of advice can help a student in the future. And I have also seen how a students attitude towards different types of writing can change and how to be responsive and understanding of that.

As I continue my volunteer work at Asheville High, I am excited to see these students continue to improve their writing skills and ability. I love seeing their confidence grow and I love when they mention a piece of advice or correction I’ve given them in the past and how they apply it currently or with future writing assignments (kinda selfish, I know). My goal is to continue improving my tutoring skills and to work harder to help students in their writing by improving my teaching methods and delivery of my critiques and advice. I want to find more ways to instill academic confidence in them. One encouraging sentence or phrase can go along way!

My service learning experience lately has shown me that A LOT of Asheville students are applying to colleges in North Carolina alone. This was not particularly common at my high school, and for me personally, after high school, I wanted to go far away from Chicago and experience a completely different environment. It makes me wonder why they choose to stay in their state, not that there’s anything wrong with it, because it is less expensive and such. I am just curious.

As for my personal growth, I want to keep finding ways to help others. Maybe my next service adventure will be with communities that are older than me. I love the elderly and I think they wouldn’t mind some companionship right now.