Hungry to Connect
By Grace Kohn ’18
For a number of years, I was given the honor of working with some of the incredible, bright students at Hearst Elementary School in Washington, DC. On my first visit, I worked in a class with young children with autism. The dedication and love that the teachers put into working with their students was evident from the moment I walked into that classroom. I shared this room with two other girls from my grade, and we spent the day aiding the teachers and playing with the children. We danced, played with sand, taught them about the alphabet, drew pictures with them, and chased them around the playground. There is one day in particular that I will never forget because of the connection that I built with one little girl. She was constantly being brought to a health specialist. She was a very picky eater, and she refused to try almost everything. Every day she was brought a specially prepared meal. Her teachers would try to feed her tiny pieces of chicken, which she hated. They never succeeded in getting her to eat any, but I did. Honestly, I’m not quite sure why this is so, but the excitement and the joy that I felt in making an impact on that child’s life, no matter how small, has truly stayed with me.
HELPING THE KIDS NEXT DOOR Mentoring students from underserved communities is a favorite service learning endeavor for Middle Schoolers. Two students, Grace Kohn ’18 and Joey Romansky ’18, are in Upper School now but carry fond memories of the children they bonded with over the course of several years at Hearst Elementary School.
Because I was lucky enough to return several times to Hearst, I was able to build strong bonds with many of the children. Seeing their faces light up with large, luminous grins upon my arrival and knowing that I was brightening their day made their joy infectious. I was able to learn about more than just the surface details about each child. I learned about their hobbies, their family situations at home, what they aspired to be, who they hoped to become, and little details like what pets they had and what languages they could speak. Sometimes they would even come to me for advice or invite me to their sports games. My experience at Hearst became more than just a service trip. It created another family for me.
The Cool Kids
By Joey Romansky ’18
In 7th and 8th grade, I periodically went to help out at Hearst Elementary School along with some classmates. We had the extreme pleasure of working with the same group of kids each year. We would arrive at the school and immediately be broken up into small groups of about two or three and head to a classroom. I went to a room consisting of a dozen 3rd grade students. When we walked in, the kids immediately erupted into huge smiles. They thought it was the coolest thing ever that these middle school kids were with them in their classroom. I distinctly remember one instance where I was helping a girl with some math. They were filling out the 12 by 12 multiplication tables, and I could tell that she was really struggling with it. I sat down with her and tried to help. We got through the first four or five columns quickly, and then it got very challenging for her. She kept asking to check the book of answers so she could simply copy them in. Another classmate of mine and I encouraged her to fill in the table by herself. With a little bit of explaining and help, she did. When it was completed and her teacher came over to check it, she proudly proclaimed that she had done it with no help from the book. She had a huge smile on her face. Not only did that experience make her feel great, but also it had the same effect on me. The young students always wanted us to help them with their reading or their math, and they especially were keen to play basketball with us during break. It made me appreciate how cool it must have been for the students to have an older kid take an interest in them. Through helping these kids and making their day better, it truly made my day a million times better, too. ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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