Within my time at Longwood so far, the service pillar has been the most prevalent in my experience at the school.
I am fortunate enough to have an amazing professor and mentor, Dr. Rene Gutiérrez. She has been my professor for two spanish courses, and she also leads the volunteer program that I volunteer with.
Dr. Guitérrez partnered with the ICE detention center down the road from Longwood to offer English courses to the “detainees.” We visit the center every Monday and Thursday at night to offer classes.
At first, I was hesitant to join as a volunteer because I did not want to perpetuate the stereotypical ignorant American that forces English upon others. However, this program is the complete opposite. When attending the training for becoming a volunteer Dr. Gutiérrez gave a beautiful long talk about the importance of making our time there a linguistic experience for all parties involved. This means that other students and myself are learning just as much from the “detainees” as they are from us. When we are in the center, we focus on decreasing any power dynamics, supporting their emotional needs, having conversations, and not focusing on a savior complex. This complex can occur when people with privilege and power go into volunteer or human service areas that perceive their work as saving others. This can promote negative social implications and uphold systemic social issues.
To work against this concept, we switch roles of who is the student and who is the teacher each time we visit. Part of our time at the center is teaching English so that the individuals can improve upon their language skills to be able to use when they leave the center. The other half of our time is spent being the students, where the “detainees” teach us their native language. About 85% of the population of the center are native speakers of Spanish, but I have also had the amazing opportunity to learn from individuals who speak French, Arabic, Russian, etc. One man I met spoke nine different languages!
My time at the center has been amazing to say the very least. These people that I meet are some of the nicest human beings that teach me so much. I have learned a lot of functional language skills that helps to improve my Spanish, and I am slowly learning how to be a better “teacher.”
Words cannot explain the love that I have for these people and for this program. It has shaped the trajectory in which I want to take my life in the future. If you are reading this and are interested in joining, let me know and I would be more than happy to give you more information.