This semester I participated in a service-learning activity with the Ignite Food Pantry. I volunteered on Tuesday, October 29, for 5 and a half hours. The timing was from 11:30am-5:00pm. In this experience, I walked around for an hour handing out fliers to people who were interested in volunteering or looking for worship to attend. I was also able to assist people in the actual food pantry. I would show people the items they were able to take and inform them of how many they were aloud to take. Including assisting people visiting the food pantry, I also helped clean up the pantry, by bringing in new food and throwing away the old food.
Ignite’s mission was to start a church in a part of the city where people have experienced the most pain and brought transformation by spreading love and joy. Ignite provides small group meetings for men and women, mentoring children in the area, a food pantry for anyone who isn’t able to provide for themselves, and Sunday worship services. Ignite addresses many needs of the community. They focus on changing the city from past hurt people have experienced. They address physical needs by running the food pantry, needs of children by mentoring and showing children that they can achieve their dreams, and the need for God’s love by giving the public access to small groups and worship.
After reflecting on my service-learning activity, I have learned that not everyone has the same privileges as other people. I have taken this to heart and believe not to judge others based on their needs or past situations. My opinions have changed from thinking people got themselves in the situation they are in to now being more empathetic about people’s past and not blaming them because I don’t know everyone’s backstory.
Prior to the Fall 2019 semester, the health related experiences I had was shadowing my dental hygienist for half a day and going on a medical mission trip to Nicaragua. In Nicaragua, we did basic height, weight, blood pressure, brushed teeth, and flossed teeth for the community. Based on this experience, I was impacted by how little people knew in other countries about basic hygiene skills. They were all so happy over a toothbrush, toothpaste, and some floss. This made me want to help others learn about hygiene and see them smile. While shadowing, I noticed that in the beginning people felt a little nervous, but by the end of the cleaning they were smiling and confident. I want to be able to put that smile on peoples faces.
My service-learning experience related to my intended career field by learning how to be empathetic to people’s situations and what they need help with. It could also relate to the nursing major because nurses also have to be empathetic and assist people with basic physical needs. I would choose nursing as a parallel major because it is similar to dental hygiene, but working with the body instead of teeth and oral care. It still involves helping people and there are many different fields to choose from within the nursing major.
In the beginning of the semester, I didn’t study at all because I didn’t know how or where to start. Now, I study about 6 hours for each class per week. My study habits changed after I met with my peer mentor coach. She helped me make a study schedule with 30 minute chunks so I wouldn’t get distracted. For chemistry, flashcards and practicing extra problems helps me the most, while in sociology, going over the lecture material helps me the most. IN history, I study by going over my old notes and reviewing my discussion boards. For statistics, I attend tutoring and use extra practice problems. Practicing with flashcards and extra practice problems in little bits work the best for me
14 weeks ago, I expected college to be a lot of studying and making lots of new friends. This semester, I discovered the free chemistry tutoring, which I go to twice a week. It is very helpful when I don’t understand a concept and want one-on-one help. I found my RA to be unhelpful this semester. He doesn’t really hang out with us or help us with any problems that we have. When I would go up to him and ask for advice, he would get another RA to help me. 14 weeks ago, I wish I knew how to prioritize my time and knew how crucial it is to have good time management. I overcame this with my peer mentor and the help of a planner. Next semester, the free tutoring and writing center will assist me while I’m taking English Composition. I’m not the best writer, but I know I will be able to utilize the writing center for success.