Service Learning

Log of specific hours click here: Service Learning Log

 

Description of duties:

 

I did various things such as: Made phone calls to parents, cooked spaghetti for a freshman event, spoke at presentations, helped recruit people for our Adopt a Family project, filed documents, volunteered at the new Uncommon Good site, attended educational confrences, assisted in planning event at Pomona College for entering high school students, and played college bingo with elementary students.

 

Due to the fact that I was helping at a non-profit organization there was always new events to plan and things to do, so there was no constant task that I was supposed to do (which is what I loved about it!)

 

 

Contact: Carlos Carrillo

Phone: (909) 625-2248

Email: ccarrillo@uncommongood.org

 

 

    Interpretive

 

The most important thing I gained from this experience was that I was able to reconnect with my Latino/a community and reinvest in them what has all ready been invested in me. For a long time I was not very active in my community because I was a little ashamed of the bad name that I felt many Latinos/as were giving to our culture. I distanced myself away from them, but my service learning helped me relight the passion that I had. I even had the chance to visit my old elementary school where I got quite sentimental because I was reminded of where I came from and reflected on my journey. Through Uncommon Good I was actually able to make a change in the lives of Latino/a students. By helping in planning events I was able to give back to them. I know how helpful Uncommon Good has been for me, so I just wanted to help others. I saw myself in a lot of the younger students so my service learning was an amazing experience that I will treasure always.

 

 Applied

    

For my first answer I basically said that community members must inform parents/students about resources such as non-profits like Uncommon Good.  Being able to see the good that this program does reensures me that my answer is credible and accurate. By working with students and parents who were all ready academically motivated and dreamt of going to college allowed me to see the differences in families who had not event considered college. I saw recurring patterns in families who were passionate about their children attending higher educational instituions like: active involvement within the program, emotional support from parents, and parents willingness to learn. I found it fascinating and would ask, "Why do they do what they do," which would lead to do research on a specific topic. Then I would ask, " How can we get all parents to do that?" My service learning was very helpful because in an indirect way it led me to different sources, which could have led to my answer.