Hailey: "Life is like a Sandwich…”

“Miss Hailey, what is that thing attached to your belt?” “Miss Hailey, can I go to the bathroom?” “Miss Hailey, what’s Duke like?”  These questions and many more are what I answered on a daily basis as essentially a camp counselor at the Leadership institute and I would not have it any other way.

The Leadership Institute was filled with a lot of ups and downs, but nothing that did not turn into a learning experience. By the end, both the Level 1 and Level 2 students felt more comfortable with us, as we each got to know each other better and they were more willing to open up to us. Being in the back of the room most of the time and listening to whatever the speaker or lecturer is trying to say to help these kids out (but most of the time not succeeding in getting through to them), made me realize what it takes to be a good public speaker, but more importantly what it takes to be a good teacher. It has made me grateful for all of the good teachers and mentors that I have had in my life so far that have taught me everything from, how to solve math problems to how to treat everyone with respect. Anyone can be a teacher, because each one of us is constantly learning from each other and playing off each other’s strengths and weaknesses to help each other out. I think this is also a characteristic of a leader. I hope this realization is one that these students picked up on and capitalized on by the end of the academy, and I hope I had a part in making this happen. At times, because the program is very structured and is presented as a job, due to the fact that the students are getting paid for their time here, it is difficult for them to want to engage in whatever activity is happening and to not think of this as school. We had a lot of group reflections and staff reflections to help address challenges such as these that have came up during the institute.

During one of our group reflection circles in particular, Margarita, who is the overall director of Unidad, told us something that really caught my attention.  She said that, “life is like a sandwich. The more you add to it, the better it gets.” The foodie in me thinks this is just fantastic and so clever, but when you really start to think about it, it is so true.  My experience with Unidad has definitely made me grateful to have this type of opportunity that has made me think a lot about my future aspirations and about all of the different types of problems and disparities that are happening here in the United States. I hope that these students at the end of institute, and as they reflect on it, realize how valuable of a program it was and how much the people that put it on, cared about their success and in their future. I know I do!

I thoroughly my time at the Leadership Institute and learned a lot along the way. It makes me really sad that to think that I will more than likely not see these kids ever again, but in my optimistic way of viewing just about everything, I hope so.

It is hard for me to think about what a day is like in these students’ lives and what kinds of individual tribulations they might be going through on a daily basis. I have a younger sister who is going to be a rising junior in high school, and she is the same age and in the same grade as a lot of the Level One students. It is hard for me to picture my sister in this type of environment and having to deal with some of the things these kids go though. Having to wake up super early and take a two hour bus ride just to be at the Convention Center on time, be pregnant, live with multiple siblings in a small house, live off food stamps, going to a not so good public high school and many other defining characteristics are what shape the realities of a bunch of the students.

Every time I text or call my mom to check in, give her updates, complain, and brag, she always ends the conversation saying something along the lines of “Go forth and make a difference to improve what you can and make suggestions when appropriate. Make us proud! We love you!” I want to say that I am doing that all the time, but that I did that and more at the leadership institute. It is hard for me to say if the students that we worked with get this kind of encouragement, have a good support system, and have high expectations for themselves. I tried to be all of that for them during the three weeks. I think the students learned a couple of valuable things from the different trainers and speakers and workshops they had, but from us, it was not anything concrete. It has been said several times by a lot of different people that just us being there is making a difference not only in how the program ran, but in the students as well. Us holding them to standards and expectations they have never been held to before, making them aware that some of the words they say are very derogatory and should not be said, and just talking to them about college are just some of the ways that I feel that we as the “Duke” interns have touched the students.

It is going to be a challenge having to describe what exactly I did during the leadership institute and what kind of a difference and an impact I made on the program and the students because of the wide range of tasks and problems we were faced with.  Now that my time with Unidad is over, I will be taking my skills to a completely new placement site. I will be working at the Catholic Legal Services of Miami. I am looking forward to being able to use my Spanish a lot and getting to learn about a new field of study.

- The Mexicube