There’s a Heights article from who knows when hanging in the Appa/4 Boston/Hillel office that’s title reads Service: It’s a BC Thing. Though the article is yellowing and wrinkled, those words still ring true today here on the Heights. It seems like everyone I know is involved in some form of service, and while there are tons of really popular service organizations (Appa, 4Boston, Arrupe, etc.), there are some lesser known service organizations here at BC that are really worth mentioning. One of them is Peer Health Exchange!
Peer Health Exchange is an organization that trains college students to teach health workshops in high schools where health programs have been cut. Many of the students at these high schools are living below the poverty line and are even more exposed to health risks than the average teen, so the need for health education is very great in these areas. The program does an awesome job training us (the volunteers) and it’s also a great way to pick up teaching and public speaking skills.
Once you get into the classroom to teach, it is such an incredible experience. I teach a workshop about alcohol, and it’s always so gratifying to feel like the kids get some level of knowledge out of the workshop, especially because almost every one of them will be in a situation involving alcohol at some point in there lives. It’s also a great way to become more educated about the problems plaguing the Boston school system. Beyond that, the kids are hilarious, and it’s so much fun to remember back to how I was when I was a ninth grader. I can admit that sometime it is a pain to wake up early in the morning to teach a workshop, but every time I not only walk away with some hilarious quotes, but also from the amazing feeling that I actually taught 9th graders something that could prevent them from making a bad choice in the future. Find out more here!
Photo Source:
http://peerhealthexchange.org/