Great Stories : Telling our Tales of Service

          At some point during each Campus Corps Member's term of service, he or she is required to submit at least one Great Story: a brief narrative retelling a memorable experience that occurred at some point during one's service. These can be viewed on our MTcampuscorps.org website and provide valuable anecdotal documentation of the impact that the services that our members perform have upon their communities. 
         Below is one such Great Story, shared by member from UM-Western who tells about her experience tutoring a student at the local elementary school:


              First Step on Becoming a Teacher, Teach. by Litcelle Parahan 

                      Every day since November of 2011 to April of 2012, I worked with a 1st grader named Lucy at Parkview Elementary school. She has a difficult time reading at her level. My job as a volunteer was to give her a little push towards success with some extra reading practice every morning. She is a bright, wonderful, and funny little girl. 
                      When I started at this service site for the first time, I was nervous to be working with little kids. I had never worked one on one with students like Lucy before and I didn't know what it was going to be like. I knew I wanted to continue my goal of becoming a teacher and this was the only way to start experiencing it full on. Every day got easier and Lucy got better at her reading. My heart was jumping for joy when she was able to go through an entire lesson without a problem. I would help her sound words out by doing it together and we would snap our fingers as a sign to move on. 
                     She enjoyed the lesson most of the time and when she got frustrated I would have her tell me a story. It didn't matter what story she told, just as long as it was something that would distract her and keep her from giving up on the lesson. Overall, she did great. I am sad to have left her before the end of the school year, but in my heart she will always be the first student I had ever worked with one on one, in my goal of becoming an elementary teacher. 




As many of our members are just now finishing up their Campus Corps terms, I am eager to see an influx of great-Great Stories in the very near future.  A big thanks to all of our members for taking the time to share their stories. You are an inspiration to us all!