As Boston College students, we are often proud to say that we are in the process of becoming men and women for others.
I am trying to take this mission of the founding Jesuit educators and make it a more important part of my final two years as a student. If you are looking for a way to live out this ideology yourself this year, consider applying to be a mentor for the newly established BC Soars program!
Founded this year by juniors Traea Vaillancourt and Brittany Burke as an extension of the Education for Students by Students program at Boston College, this new organization has the potential to change the future of children in Boston for whom a college education is not always believed to be a guaranteed path in life. This program offers two options for Boston College students to get involved this year!
- BC Mentors: You will work at James Otis in 5/2 mentee/mentor ratio. Mentees (4th graders) and mentors will work together to create a culminating project based on the interests and passions of the group that will be presented at BC at the end of the semester.
- BC Literacy Buddies: You will work on reading and literacy skills in 1/1 mentee/mentor ratio. We hope to make this thematic so mentees (1st graders) can present something something they have worked on with BC Literacy Buddies back on the Heights with their fourth grade peers!
As their mission statement reads, “BC Soars is a new ESS organization that will allow Boston College students to share their passions with students from James Otis Elementary School in East Boston by way of a dynamic mentoring program. Functioning out of the precepts of mutuality and solidarity, mentors will imagine and learn together with James Otis students in order to create a culminating project that will be presented at Boston College at the end of the semester.
This will enable James Otis students, living in an area where college is not always a viable option, to both broaden their scope with which to view the world and be made more conscious of what the college experience is like concretely. Additionally, BC mentors will be provided a forum to come to a deeper understanding of the inner workings of poverty, its connection to education, and our role in working with James Otis students to combat these injustices”.
Helping the children of James Otis will allow you to have an impact on their lives. In doing so, I am certain they will have an impact on yours. After volunteering at this school several times last spring, I can attest to the happiness these children can bring into your daily life. In addition to volunteering at James Otis, each week you have the opportunity to meet with the other BC Soars Mentors/Literacy buddies and engage in a reflective discussion about the challenges you have faced, the joys you have experienced, and the community issues you have now witnessed firsthand.
Having watched the development of BC Soars from afar, I know the passion and dedication of its Executive Board will ensure this is a successful and rewarding program for both the students of James Otis Elementary School and Boston College. If you are interested in making a difference with this group, fill out the application here by Midnight on Monday! Every BC student has much to offer the individuals of the community, especially the children of James Otis Elementary School. Are you looking for more information?
- Follow On Twitter: BC_Soars
- Like On Facebook: BC Soars {https://www.facebook.com/groups/bcsoars/}
- Email Questions: [email protected]
Applying to be a part of the BC Soars team means you are committed to trying make a difference in our Boston community. As our Jesuit founders proclaimed when they set out to educate the world’s students, you will have the opportunity “to encounter and transform the world”. This process of inspiration can start with a Boston College BC Soars Mentor or Literacy Buddy who believes in the students of James Otis enough to make them believe in themselves.
Stylishly Yours,
Erin ★
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