Caroline Henry
Into to Health
Professor Tousignaut
11 November 2019
Service-Learning Reflection
Over the course of this semester I participated in service-learning activities such as the Ignite pantry and volunteering with children at John B Day Elementary school (which I got permission from Professor Tousignaut to do). On two Separate occasions I volunteered at the school for one hour each time, 10/25/19 and 10/30/19. This was an amazing experience because I got to see the inner workings of the education system that I have never seen before. Also, it was a good experience because I realized a lot about myself and how fail to understand children and the things they can learn and accomplish in just an hour. When I volunteered at Ignite food pantry it was for a three-hour period on 11/19/19. This experience was a pleasant one because I got to spend the hours of service with fellow learning community members and it took the strain out of the long process. I enjoyed learning about how food pantries work and seeing the humbleness and sincerity of such an amazing organization devoted to the helping of others.
The Purpose of the elementary school is to educate the minds of tomorrow and provide social and educational experience to children. The services I was able to accomplish when I visited the school were things like interacting with children which I had very little experience with and helping them to read and understand the things that the teacher had taught previously. The needs of the community this address if the constant need for educated people in society, the minds of the children are so important, and I believe Mrs. Rubin does an amazing job every single day. The mission of the Ignite pantry is to “bring a message of mercy and hope to those in need by providing nutritional basics and encouragement.” (“Community Food Pantry: Ignite Revival Ministries.” Igniterevival, https://www.igniterevivalministries.com/springville-food-pantry.) The service that the pantry provides is to feed those who do not have the means to feed themselves. But it goes much further than that, through my service with Ignite pantry I was about to learn all about the spirit and compassion that comes from such a genuine and sincere establishment who’s only goal is to serve its community. The needs of the community this pantry addresses would be the terrible but true fact that some people do not make enough money to feed their families.
These experiences have changed my in the way that I never understood the difficulties and values of the educational system until I saw it for myself. I always thought that the job of a elementary school teacher was not that important, but while talking to those children and watching them learn even for only a short period of time I was able to realize the satisfaction of and importance of education at such a young age. While working at the Ignite pantry my views were changed because I was unaware of just how many people are affected by hunger each day, and the burden of not having enough money to feed one’s family. I was able to see just how empowering it was to be a part of the solution that allowed people to eat for a day.
When I was in high school I had ambition to become a veterinarian, so for a semester I shadowed a vet once a week and was able to learn much about the health and wellness of animals and how amazing it was to watch these animals get the help they needed. I ultimately decided that I wanted to work with people instead, but I will always carry that experience with me and how it solidified my desire to become a health professional and get to watch people get better from sickness. This along with my service-learning experience has shown me that wherever I end and whatever I end up doing, I want to be in a profession that lets me help people in any way I can.
These service-learning opportunities relate to the nursing field because the services I provided, whither in a classroom or at the pantry, were all striving to help people, and that is the core value of nursing is the desire to help people. These could also relate to the field of veterinarians because of the focus on the helping of others (and their pets). If I chose to take a parallel major that is not nursing, it would most likely be veterinarian because I do have a love for animals and an interest in the medical field.
My study habits have sharpened during this semester and become a natural thing that is easy and stress free because of my ability to time manage and prioritize so I am never overwhelmed. I spend about double the hours a week studying for each class for each credit hour. This is different from the beginning of the semester because I have found a system that works for me and gives me the opportunity to have a social life while still having complete understanding of the material I am learning. I prefer to study with music or background noise so that I have focus completely and not drive myself crazy. For subjects that require memorization like history I have found that study groups benefit me the most, as opposed to chemistry where I spend more pf my time in the tutoring center.
14 weeks ago, I had an idea of what college would be like, and so far, I have not been wrong. I expected a reading heavy curriculum and lots of studying to do. I also anticipated the social aspects and have not been disappointed. This semester I have gone to chemistry tutoring at least once a week if not more often, and I am so grateful for the resource that has allowed me to maintain an A for the whole semester. A resource I have found to be unhelpful is the option of office hours provided my teacher, for me they are not ideal, and I would prefer to go to tutoring instead. Something I wish I knew 14 weeks ago would be to save some of my flex points, because I ran out very quickly. Something I have learned this semester that I will use in my semesters ahead is to make sure I make time for myself to just be away from all the work and people to just be by myself.
