Before a few months ago, I had never thought too much of working with children. Frankly I had convinced myself that kids were like the plague and had to be avoided at all costs. So how does a recent college graduate end up spending her first summer post graduation with 2nd and 3rd graders all day? Well when realizing that I had been selected as a 2016 CAPS fellow, I was overjoyed. This was another opportunity for me to represent Valpo and gain valuable professional knowledge.  As we received placement options, I began envisioning myself at multiple different organizations, all that would of course be a stepping stone on my career pathway while allowing me to serve. But then I had to sit back and truly think of what it means to be servant. Webster’s dictionary says it’s a person who performs duties for others. Most internships require you to “perform duties for others”, so I figured the definition of service in this context had to have a deeper meaning.

So I decided to search for an organization that would truly allow me to serve others. I happened upon Forest Manor Multi-Service Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. Forest Manor Multi-Service Center  is a community based social service organization located on the northeast side of Indianapolis. The center by a group of concerned residents and was originally sponsored and operated by the City of Indianapolis. In 1977, the Center became a non-profit organization and in 1980, they began extensive, much-needed outreach programs to youth and adults. After doing more research, I realized that Forest Manor offered so many services to the community from after school programs to senior citizen programming. This struck a chord within me. This was my opportunity to actually be in direct contact with the community and see tangible results of that service. So after finding my placement location came the task of deciding which area in the organization that I wanted to offer my services. I could have easily been a receptionist but I thought back to the meaning of service and realized that this was not about me at all.  This was about serving others truly and putting my wants on the backburner. Hence my decision to become a lead teacher in Forest Manor’s youth enrichment program. This was a chance to be a positive role model that so many of those children never get to see in their lives. So I put my pride aside and got down to business.

Being a lead teacher in charge of around 25 kids a day is a challenging task.  This is not a job that you can be half-present for. I am constantly engaged nine hours a day and I am pleased to say that it is great! These kids push me to be better every single day. Having 25 young minds watch and listen to everything you say or do really keeps you on your toes. I’m convinced that children are the most brutally honest beings that exist! Four weeks into this experience, I can say that every day brings a new problem to fix, a different child to keep happy, and a new parent to face. I cannot wait to see what the next four weeks brings.