Archive for January, 2012
Tuscaloosa Tornado Victims Get Helping Hands from Oglethorpe Students
Posted by: | January 26, 2012 | Comments
Pictured: Students observe a devastated home in Tuscaloosa.
My first Oglethorpe Alternative Winter Break was amazing, relationship-building, eye-opening, and reflective. From January 3-8, ten Oglethorpe students and two staff members volunteered to help with disaster relief for damage caused by the April 2011 tornados that swept through Tuscaloosa, Ala. Although part of the city has been cleaned up and rebuilt, there are numerous communities that look like the storm passed through just yesterday.
During our first morning service project, we worked with Compassion Coalition to patch up a home that was previously destroyed by the tornado. We hammered trim to fill in an elderly woman’s bedroom cracks from the wall to the ceiling and covered up a hole in her floor. Hearing Vicki’s story was extremely heartbreaking and devastating as she lost eight people in the tornado, including her husband and her son. This was my most memorable moment of Alternative Winter Break because I saw the true strength that the people of Tuscaloosa possessed through such difficult times. To lose everything precious to you and still have hope for a better tomorrow finally put meaning behind my own mother’s words: “There is hope for the living.” Regardless of what few possessions Vicki had, or where she was living now, she had today and that was enough for her.
Pictured: Jacob Tadych ’14 helps Alicia Morris, an AmeriCorps volunteer at OU, make a side window.
Pictured: Anna Ethridge ’14 paints a new shed.
During that same afternoon, we volunteered with the Volunteer Reception Committee to pick up debris from and around a home that was destroyed by the tornado. Our group genuinely bonded over this experience as we became better acquainted with each other as well as the individual who had once lived in this home. We all put ourselves in the shoes of this woman and recognized how truly thankful we are to simply have a roof over our heads.
For the next three days, we worked with Habitat for Humanity to rebuild a home for a family who was displaced by the tornado. We met the mother, father and two children who would move into this home in less than three weeks, all because of our hard work. We were able to learn new construction skills all while helping a family who both needed and appreciated our efforts.
Pictured: "Our" Habitat for Humanity home
In addition to our daily service projects, throughout the week we participated in various teambuilding activities, reflections and presentations. We held discussions with native Tuscaloosa community members about preparations for the tornado, during the tornado and the rebuilding process. We even had the opportunity to speak with an individual who was part of the civil rights movement in Tuscaloosa. Learning more about the history of Tuscaloosa first-hand provided us all with insight that could not be read online or even in a book.
Pictured: OUr special handshake with some Tuscaloosa residents.
Volunteering with the nonprofit organizations and participating in the various group activities throughout the week helped us to grow together as a group and as individuals. If I can close on one piece of advice it would be to take advantage of opportunities where your surroundings are completely different; your ideas, passions, and talents can be exercised in such a way that personal growth can occur. Sometimes growth can happen in the most unlikely places.
OU students – if you’re interested in making a difference by participating in Alternative Spring Break (March 18-24, 2012), join us in the Center for Civic Engagement this Friday, January 27, 12-12:30 pm or contact Heather Staniszewski at hstan@oglethorpe.edu. Applications are also available NOW in the CCE or on PetrelNet.
Oglethorpe’s International Language Fair at PATH Academy Translates to Learning & Fun
Posted by: | January 23, 2012 | Comments
Pictured right: Rebecca Mulligan-Santos "visiting" France before the fair began.
As an international student at Oglethorpe, I felt it important to make the absolute most of my experience here in Atlanta, which is why I choose to volunteer at PATH Academy. I tried to make it to the DeKalb County charter school every week to help out in a 5th grade classroom with language arts teacher Ms. McCombs.
As I was talking to the students about college life and the different languages I was learning, it struck me that every single child in the class spoke or understood at least two languages already. We discussed the great advantage of this and how they would be able to benefit from it in their future. I asked them in how many languages they were able to say “hello” and I was surprised to see how many students were eager to show off their knowledge on the white board. I watched as a number of students came up and wrote words from “Bonjour” to “Ni Hao” to “Hola.” I then told them about Belgium, my homeland, and they asked me to teach them French words.
Their excitement was really heartwarming. One thing was for sure: the interest in foreign languages was definitely there! I thought that as their brains were already accustomed to constantly switching from one language to the other, why not use that skill as much as possible?
I told my story to Peyton Healy in the Oglethorpe Center for Civic Engagement, who coordinates all volunteer placements at “OUr partner school,” and she offered to help me to set up an International Languages Fair to get the students even more interested in foreign languages. I recruited a group of both international and American OU students and was thrilled to see how many were happy to help.
At the Academy, we set up five different stations, each representing a different country. France, Spain, Germany, Turkey and China were all represented by two Oglethorpe students of different origins.
Passport for France
The 32 PATH Academy students were each handed makeshift passports at the beginning of the fair, indicating the order in which they would be “flying” to the different countries. As they traveled along the five different stations, their passports were stamped and they learned interesting facts about the respective countries, as well as a few basic words in all the languages. Various activities were organized for the small groups as they rotated from station to station. For example, in Germany, students made Christmas stockings out of brown paper bags. For Spain’s station, they were taught basic flamenco moves and in China, they learned to draw Chinese characters.
Where in the world is France?
They spent 10 minutes at each station and we’d ask them questions about what they had learned about the country. The first students to answer correctly got to place their name in a raffle box. At the end of the fair, five lucky students received great prizes related to the various countries.
Thanks to the great work by the Center for Civic Engagement staff as well as both international and American Oglethorpe student involvement, the languages fair was a great success and the team of teachers at PATH academy all were very pleased. More importantly, the kids really enjoyed it and loved interacting with college students from different cultural backgrounds.
Attention Oglethorpe students: Are you interested in volunteering at the PATH Academy? Learn more at an orientation and information session this Wednesday, January 25, 12 noon – 1:30 p.m. in the Center for Civic Engagement. Contact Peyton Healy at phealy@oglethorpe.edu for more information.
"Can you show me how to find it on the map?"
- Turkish International student, Arzu, helping PATH students with their bird masks
