 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Ross Harrison
Service:
For the two years I've been at UCF, each semester I have taught at least one Junior Achievement class. My first semester, like all Honors Freshmen, I taught Junior Achievement as part of Honors Symposium. Honor Symposium is class where learning is not constrained to within the classroom. In fact, much of the learning in that class can be found in the classroom that the students visit. It is both a rewarding and eye-opening experience done in an unconventional academic environment. Since then I've done JA as a Team Leader, and simply as a volunteer. I've seen a good amount of Orlando because of it, specifically the different communities that all call Orlando their home.
Memorable Moment:
A moment in my experience with Junior Achievement that stands out prominently was when I went to Hillcrest to teach Junior Achievement. I didn't know at the time that Hillcrest was a Foriegn Language Academy. I was taken aback when I walked into a Vietnamese classroom. I didn't think that this was going to be doable. Turned out that they were one of the brightest group of 1st graders I've taught.
Lessons Learned:
One of the most important lessons I've learned was one I was suppose to teach to a class. When you ask what a family is, there is no wrong answer to that question.
Horizon Broadened:
I believe because of my Civic Engagement experience I have a heightend appreciation for teachers. Teachers act as a student's guide while they develop into members of our society. Volunteering at elementary schools allowed me to appreciate my own education and the role that teacher's fulfill in our society. It's realy not just grammar and mathematics that teachers give to us. The foster our development into indviduals.
Educational Value:
Civic engagement also to develop important skills in academia, specifically critical thinking and presentation. Both are valued highly, but there is more that Civic Engagement programs can give back to you. If you think about it, your education at UCF is part of your development as an individual. Sociologists believe that the individual cannot exist without the community: "A person is a personality because he belongs to a community." Civic Engagement gives you the opportunity to become a part of the community. While you are unequivocally doing something for the benefit of others, you are also developing yourself. Isn't that what education is, the development of the self?
Service to Career :
If I want to be a doctor, I am going to obviously have to go to medical school. Medical schools, along with most types of graduate programs, tend to look favorably upon candidates that are active, contributing members of their community.
