Service and Learning Together

During the four weeks that I was with my student was not only beneficial to her, but to me also. I never thought that as a high school student, I could help someone find their dream in such a short time, but I did and it was an experience that I will take with me for a long time. Helping her find her dream also helped me find mine and made the dream I created a reality.
Bryonna, an eighth grader from Beveridge Middle School was who I was paired with. Coming into this experience, I believed that she was going to be a lot younger. Finding out how old she was made me think that she was not going to enjoy the meetings with Nick and I, so at the beginning, I was reluctant to meet with her also. Yet when we started our first assignment, the collage, she was just as eager to do the project as we were.
She had no idea on what she wanted to be, but helping her look at her options was so fun for me. I never really helped anyone look at what they were good at and how they could make it into a career. Doing that college was the best assignment that we did because helping her find her career, helped me find mine. What she decided for that first week was that she wanted to work with kids or study fashion. I had a hard time finding a career that would work with both!
I did not meet with Bryonna the second week because she went on a field trip with her agency and she had a dentist appointment. During the third week, my mother had a car accident so I had to be with her. Although I did not meet with Bryonna, I could not stop thinking about what she would be good at as far as a career. She was a good speaker, presented herself well, and she had a reason for everything she said. In my opinion, she could pass herself off as a lawyer.
The last week we met she had told me something that surprised me. The class that she was taking in the agency was Criminal Justice, and this made her want to be a lawyer. I was so happy for her and I couldn't wait to do the essay and college plan. Being a lawyer is something that is a possible career option for me as well, so researching this profession was not only helpful for her, but for me too.
True the meetings that we had were short, but I believe that Bryonna appreciated it as much as I did. She informed me that she never really thought about what she wanted to do with her life, but by us helping her, she now has a plan of action. She also wanted to get all of my contact information so that I could not only help her with high school, but to be apart of UNO Summer Scholars as well.