The LEAF in Schools and Streets program is a non-profit in which artists visit local schools and communities and share their knowledge with kids through workshops, performances, classes, and more. I decided to volunteer for the LSS program as part of my project because the ideas behind the program reflected my own. I was touched when I read about what the program does on its website and what a difference art, music, dance, and culture can make in the kids involved.
I met Jocelyn Reese, the Director of LSS, at William Randolf School just after a few short emails were exchanged. She wanted me to come in to discuss where I would fit in best with the program. After mustering up some independence and taking the bus into the city all by myself, I quickly realized that this whole experience is going to be a learning one.
I felt a lot less nervous when I entered the school. It's been a while since I had been in a "regular school" that wasn't a college campus, and I instantly felt at home. I actually felt a lot older. Here I was, this college student volunteering her time at a high school that she was too old to be a part of herself. The idea gave me some confidence as I started to remember why I was there.
I walked into the room that Jocelyn told me I would find on the lower part of the building. I introduced myself to the intern sitting at the front of the room and she pointed me to Jocelyn. The two ladies were both casually dressed and extremely friendly. After talking to them, I could tell that they woke up every day happy to be going to work. Jocelyn was a smart, strong, and well-spoken woman and I found it hard not to be intimidated even though she was as nice as anyone could be.
We talked for a while, and she gave me two options that she thought I would fit in best with my experience and my available time. One was a job as a teacher's assistant in a jazz music class. She assumed I had no jazz music experience (which was very true) and told me that it did not matter. She explained that the teacher of the class is looking for someone to work with the kids and make sure they are behaving appropriately. I admitted that I did not have much experience with kids; I've only babysat for 2 different mothers before. But the idea was more along the lines of what I was expecting to be doing when I volunteered.
The second option was a job in which I would be sitting at a desk in the room we were in and filling information into databases and basically fulfilling smaller tasks that needed to be done. This idea did not appeal to me much, but the times in which I could come were much more flexible than the previous job. The job at the music class required me to be there at least two days a week for at least five weeks. It wasn't that I did not want to make the commitment, it was that as a freshman with awkward class times and no car, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to.
Jocelyn understood completely and told me to think about it. She handed me her card, wrote her cell phone number down, and handed me a pamphlet with more information about the LSS program. I left, feeling excited and anxious about volunteering for this great non-profit.
