By Daniel Kim
Daniel Kim is a 2012-2013 corps member serving at the John Marshall Elementary in Dorchester.
A student and corps member enjoy reading together during Starfish. (Photo by Jonaszen Yao)
In the spring of 2012, I found myself at a crossroad. I had a gap year before medical school and had narrowed my options down to either working in a research lab or volunteering. As I reflect on my year of service thus far, I know I have made the right decision. As much as I loved science, research and working with smelly bacteria, it does not compare to the relationships I have made with my students, teachers and the community of Dorchester.
My closest relationship with a student at the Marshall Elementary School is with Julio*. Because Julio is a student on my focus list, I spend extra time reading with him and tutoring him in English language arts. I also have the fortune of spending extra instructional time working with Julio in Starfish, our afterschool program. It is during our Starfish homework hour that Julio and I started reading Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach. Although James and the Giant Peach is a grade level higher than Julio’s reading level, I challenged Julio to push himself to improve his reading level.
Reading James and the Giant Peach with Julio quickly became the highlight of my day. One day, as we were going through vocabulary words, we stumbled across the word “peculiar.” It was at that moment that I connected the word peculiar with one of the things Julio loves, the Celtics. The example that I used was: “Imagine Rajon Rondo flying through our fourth grade classroom window with a basketball in his hand. That would be peculiar.” As Julio laughed at the absurd example, I knew he would forever remember what the word “peculiar” means and it has become an inside joke between us. It is moments like these that I know I have made the right decision to serve.
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*Name changed to protect student’s privacy
