Settling into the Green Mountain State, refugees share their immigration experience and cultural traditions.

Author: Jessica Clayton

On weekend mornings, as many people stumble out of bed, frantically reaching for ibuprofen and a bottle of water, one group of students is already on its way home. Almost every Saturday the Middlebury College Habitat for Humanity volunteers can be found hiking out to the project's house located on Route-7.

When driving by, one can see the progress made each day. What used to be empty land has become a two-story house. Along with other volunteers, students have cut wood, set up drywall, nailed, glued, painted and created the structure visible today. Most materials are donated or bought with donations, and the building follows the foundation's desire for environmentally - and economically - friendly housing. Side-by-side with the townspeople, student volunteers become part of the community.

Volunteers embrace everyone working at the house, and friendly citizens often bring fresh bagels, coffee and hot chocolate for the workers. The future homeowner can often be seen visiting and dropping off treats for the workers.

Bonding with the younger generations in the surrounding communities, other students volunteer for the Foundation for Excellent Schools. Founded in 1991, this non-profit organization based in Cornwall aims to help kids establish goals for themselves and inspire them to go to college. Student volunteers involved in the mentoring programs visit their school once every week or two and meet with a child one-on-one for approximately an hour. The time commitment is small, but the benefits are huge.

"You get to watch the progression and growth of your student. It has been shown that kids with mentors show improvement behaviorally, academically and socially, and as that mentor you get to witness all of this," explained Joyce Driscoll '06. The foundation works with five schools in the area, some in Vermont and others in New York. At each school the mentor is paired up with a child to read with him, help him with his homework, and ultimaltey get to know him. More than just a tutor, volunteers become trusted friends of the students.

As Driscoll noted, "My first time I was really nervous about interacting one-on-one with a child. But slowly we opened up to each other, we would talk online and she would instant message me first. The fact that we could really develop a relationship was exciting." And these friendships can have big benefits for both the mentor and the student. As volunteers, students get to know all of the other mentors, as well as developing a relationship within a community. For the children, this program gives them hope.

"In the places we go to, many of the parents have not gone to college, and just being around college students, just hearing us talk about our experiences and lives can give them hope and motivation to go to college themselves. If the kids do not have a stable family, we can give them someone to talk to, to rely on, and a role model to look up to," said Driscoll.

Many sports teams also gather their members and set up programs to benefit others. For several years the men's hockey team has had a tradition of becoming mentors to children at local schools, taking the time to visit their young friends on a weekly basis. The team separates in order to spread their involvement to various schools, but they usually go in small groups. "We each have our own student, most of them are in second or third grade. We take them out of class for about an hour. We go to be someone in their lives, be someone to talk to, to play dodge ball with," said Jed McDonald '08. Almost every member of the team participates whenever possible, developing bonds with the students and providing a role model that the students can look up to. Along with group games, the team members assist the students with their studies and provide them with extra one-on-one attention. But benefits go both ways: "We enjoy doing this, a lot of the kids that we work with come to our games and give us support; spending time with them allows us to pay them back for their loyalty and thank them for their support," explained McDonald.

All in all, the players' participation not only connects them to the community, but further connects them to the people who fill up Kenyon Arena to watch them on the ice. Plus, as Thomas Maldonado '08 said, "I get to take time out of my rigorous college life to just play around and have fun for an hour. By participating I get to be a kid again myself."

So, amidst the hustle and bustle of what will soon become a busy school semester, taking time to connect with the community around you could be just as rewarding as extra sleep on a Saturday morning. Whether it be nailing up wall covering, drinking coffee with people from town, laughing with a nine-year old or playing dodgeball with elementary students, what better way is there to forget about your homework and discover a whole new side of yourself? Perhaps you too can volunteer and become a kid again.