A Volunteer, Volunteering Abroad
A Volunteer Abroad
The University of Tennessee, home sweet home to me. We have been the Volunteers since the founding of the University back in 1794. Saturdays in the fall are flooded with orange and white, fans singing Rocky top, and yelling “Go Vols!” as our football team runs through the T. We hold many traditions, but none are greater than that of being Volunteers. The embodiment of a volunteer is displayed on campus as the torchbearer. We, at the University of Tennessee, strive to live by the Volunteer creed, “One that beareth a torch shadoweth oneself to give light to others.”
Connecting in the Classroom
I decided to volunteer at the Colegio de Lenguas Extraneras. This was the school where we had the opportunity to teach English to a group of students. I ending up teaching a class of high school aged students, and let me tell you – they taught me a whole lot more about myself than I taught them about English. They asked me all about my culture, my values and my perspective on the world. They challenged me to open up and explore who I am as a person, and how where I grew up in this world has impacted the way I see things. I learned that I immensely value the people around me, that I treasure time well spent and that football makes up a big chunk of what I consider my culture. We discussed everything from college life in the US, to southern food, to my thoughts on our immigration policy. Both silly and serious conversations were had. During my time teaching this class, I found similarities between myself and these young students studying a foreign language, just as I have and still am. I’m not sure how successful as a teacher I was for them, but we sure did have some good laughs. The teacher I worked with, Emilia, was so flexible — she embraced and encouraged me to explore different topics each week.