Dante Armstrong didn’t know what he was getting himself into when he signed up for an English class his freshman year. He knew it would challenge him to be a better writer — most English classes do. And he knew there would be lots of reading assignments. But he didn’t know that ENG 1103 would change his view of community involvement and the role it plays in everyday life. The class, “College Writing and Public Life” with Dr. Karen Summers, was a service learning course focused on enhancing students’ understanding of the immigrants and refugee population. Through reading and writing, students learned history and theory, but through volunteerism at the nearby Macedonia Family Resource Center, they put names and faces to the people they read about by tutoring children of immigrant and refugee families.
their homework, ran outside with them to promote physical activity, and played board games with them. And he realized he had something to offer.
Seeing Service Differently As a member of HPU’s Bonner Leader Program, Armstrong and more than a dozen other students commit six to eight hours of volunteer service a week to a local organization. In total, the Bonner Leaders contribute more than 3,000 hours of community service each year. That’s part of the HPU family’s 100,000 hours of annual service. Armstrong is assigned through the program to work with the Community Writing Center, located just a few blocks away from HPU. He facilitates a lot of the same activities as he did at Macedonia: children’s writing activities, homework help and recess.
THIS SENSE OF CARE, RESPONSIBILITY AND LEADERSHIP THROUGH SERVICE IS EXACTLY WHAT OUR CARING COMMUNITY AT HPU IS ALL ABOUT. – Dr. Joseph Blosser, HPU director of service learning Through the eyes of those children, learning was brought to life.
Everyone Has Something to Give It didn’t happen immediately. And sometimes, it was scary. Armstrong was hesitant to tutor kids and lead them in creative writing assignments. The children didn’t know who he was. Some spoke broken English. As a communication major with a concentration in game and interactive media design, he didn’t believe he was qualified to teach a subject different from that. But the class challenged him to do it anyway. In the end, his major — the thing he thought made him unqualified to do this — became the vehicle that made it possible. “To get them to open up, I related it back to my major and communicated the best way I knew how: through games,” says Armstrong. “After finishing homework, we’d play a game together and get to know each other better. We’d play strategy-based games like Chess, and others that would really get the pressure going, like Jenga.” Suddenly, Armstrong’s eyes opened. Going to Macedonia became his favorite part of the week. He helped children with
“When we go outside or to the park for recess, they always insist that I play with them,” says Armstrong. “It’s my job to make sure everyone is having fun and doing what they’re supposed to. But sometimes I end up getting involved in their antics as well when we play basketball and swing on the monkey bars.” But Armstrong is also there to mentor children when he needs to. When he notices a child who seems disheartened or is sitting alone, he feels it’s his duty to cheer them up. “Even though they’re kids, they go through hardships at home and at school just like the rest of us,” he says. “I sit with them until I can help them get past the problem or ease any worries. It’s my goal to be one of the people who helps them get through it and share a laugh along the way.” “Dante comes to life in the Community Writing Center,” says Dr. Joseph Blosser, the Robert G. Culp Jr. director of service learning at HPU. “You can see how deeply he cares for each child. But even more than caring, you can see that he feels responsible. Responsible to help them achieve. Responsible to help them thrive. This sense of care, responsibility and leadership through service is exactly what our caring community at HPU is all about.” ■
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