More meaningful than I could’ve possibly guessed

At the beginning of my term of service, I quickly noticed a student who had an incredibly hard time focusing in class. He would be on his phone, chatting with friends, and calling out with the occasional outburst - interrupting the teacher’s lessons, and in turn contributing to this student’s further lack of engagement. I also noticed, though, how kind this student was when given the chance - consistently cheering on his friends, offering encouragement to others struggling, and consistently checking in on the wellbeing of those who showed signs of having a rough day. Maybe, I thought, he just needed that supportive adult we Promise Fellows strive to be.

After qualifying him for the Promise Fellow program, I spent the quarter helping this student in his English class. It turned out that when this student had an adult encouraging him, he could begin to focus - and the work started to flow in more regularly. This kid who once cracked a joke or tuned out at every opportunity was now producing poetry, writing short stories, and completing multi-page essays.

Upon completion of the quarter, I sat down with this student to check his grades and saw his eyes widen as he found his English grade - an A. After two previous quarters of low grades his excitement at an A was palpable, and the teacher soon noticed and came over to speak with him. The teacher asked, “Is there something specific that happened this quarter to help you turn your grade around?”

Without missing a beat this student pointed at me and said that my help had gotten him here, and I knew in that moment that the work we accomplish as Promise Fellows is more meaningful than I could’ve possibly guessed.

-Sammy K, AmeriCorps Promise Fellow