Creating Social Value Blog / Service in Action

Summer Corps Week 4

From turkey sandwiches to ice cream cookie sandwiches, it truly has been the summer of sandwiches. The Verizon Innovative Learning Program this summer has been one heck of a ride, that’s for sure. Trust me, taking the commuter rail is always an adventure. The first week was a bit rough though. We discovered that our job was almost entirely different to the job description we were given, but we quickly became friends and were ready to overcome the challenges.

Seeing the kids start to become better at communicating and building on skills that they will use throughout their lifetime is so rewarding. It left my heart feeling so full when the students in my group said “la navidad nos llegó pronto este año”(Christmas came early for us this year), and that they wanted to take full advantage of this opportunity they had. I am so happy to see them being engaged and working together to put together their business idea. These students are so supportive of one another. 

I recall a majority of the students writing at the start of the program that one thing they were afraid of was presenting and speaking in front of others. Now they’re more confident and are working really hard on their presentation. This upcoming week will be a bittersweet one. Time has really flown by, and I can’t believe that they’ll soon be presenting their pitches. I am so excited to see how wonderful the students will do on their presentations and how far they’ve come since the first day. Yet, I’m sad that this will be the last week I’ll be spending time with them. I am going to miss seeing them every week. I feel blessed to be able to take part in this experience. 

-Marisol Guzman