Summer Impact Corps Prepares Fellow for New Career
“I am a firm believer that you use whatever you have, wherever you go.”
After a long and varied career working in industries including filmmaking, geology, information technology, and teaching university courses, Summer Impact Corps member Debra has a wonderful variety of experiences to draw from. A life-long learner, she recently chose to go back to school to earn an associate of applied science degree to become a speech language pathology assistant. Debra was thrilled by the idea of helping young people learn to speak and read more easily. However, she had never worked directly with young children before.
In the spring of 2023, the new Summer Impact Corps program caught her eye. As a fellow, she would join a summer enrichment program to support student learning through games and activities, right in her hometown. She knew “there's just no substitute for experience” and dove into the application.
“When I interviewed, I thought it sounded great,” she says. The verdict once her service started? “It far exceeded my expectations... I loved every second of it. I've never felt so appreciated.”
A Summer of Learning
Cardstock rockets before launch
Debra split her time between programs for first through fifth graders, rotating between classrooms throughout the week. She supported each class’s teacher during activities with a focus on STEM and literacy. Her background in geology helped her teach the science behind paper mâché volcanoes, her filmmaking gave her a foundation when one class did a basic animation project, and her love of reading was evident during a range of word games. One memorable activity had the class decode a secret message written in hieroglyphics after she read Mummies in the Morning aloud.
By far though, the most exciting project for the students was the rocket launch. Debra partnered with several teachers and her brother, a retired 5th grade teacher himself, to help students make cardstock rockets. Once the weighted cones were secured, the fins lined up, and the colorful designs drawn on, Debra and the class took a field trip to watch them fly. Each student lined up and waited for their turn to hit the launch button.
“They went up over 200, maybe 300 feet! That's pretty impressive,” she says, smiling at the memory.
A Lasting Impact
Serving in AmeriCorps provided Debra the perfect mix of hands-on experience working with young students and the deep satisfaction of making a difference in their lives. She wasn’t sure at first what her contributions to the programs would look like, but she quickly found it wasn’t just the lessons that made the biggest difference.
“They walked out with their rocket, or with their volcano, and you can hear them telling their parents about what they did today,” says Debra. “But I think my best memories are the individual interactions I had with kids. [I would] walk a kindergartener who was scared to the lunchroom and ask them about their day. To make them smile or laugh... that was the best part.”
Paper mâché volcanoes (pre-eruption)
Coming Back for More
Debra knew right away she would serve again if she got the chance, and she’s happy to report she’ll be back for summer 2024. She’s overjoyed at the thought of reuniting with her students, but returning as a fellow will also allow her to update and refine the activities she did with students last year.
“I want to go in this year with some more social skill [projects]... I'm super, super excited because I have all of these activities!” Debra says, stressing the importance of making lessons enjoyable. It’s a skill she hopes to bring into her future work in speech therapy. “It should be so much fun, they don't even know that they're in therapy.”
Making a Difference Though Fun
Debra has given a lot of thought to ways she can make learning fun. One of her most unforgettable moments last summer confirmed her service was contributing to meaningful student progress. Early in the summer, one class of soon-to-be second graders wrote Father’s Day cards to bring home. Many in the class struggled to keep their letters straight: mixing up lowercase P, D, and B.
Under the supervision of the class’s teacher, Debra engaged students in word games focused on individual letters. A class favorite was a variation on the classic game hangman that featured a new, scary shark every week. Months later, at the end of the summer, that same class returned to writing cards. This time to write “happy birthday” to one of their peers – a minefield of easy-to-confuse letters.
“The teacher sought me out,” recalls Debra, excitement mounting in her voice. “She goes ‘I’ve just got to show you this!’ Every kid in the class wrote their Ps and Bs and Ds correctly!”
More than 300 members like Debra will serve their communities this upcoming summer. We can’t wait to hear the stories they’ll have to share! Learn more about Summer Impact Corps at ampact.us/summer.