“I love coming to the library because I love books! Something that could benefit my future and probably my favorite part was the Writing Center. It can be intimidating when getting help from teachers so I am more likely to ask my friends for help, so I like that students work there because it makes it more comfortable,” said Jacqueline Zaragoza, Roseland University Prep (RUP) freshman, reflecting on Discovery Day.
Another semester means another year of students participating in the service-learning event, Discovery Day. This event brings the freshman class of Roseland University Prep to our beautiful campus, where they can learn all about what Sonoma State has to offer, while also being able to experience a snippet of what college life is like in order to get them thinking about their future.
[Related: Discovery Day XV]
One of the SSU students involved reflected with me on what he learned about himself as well as the RUP students he was working with, “I’ve come to notice I’m pretty sociable, and that if I really put my mind to something I can lead people which could transfer into skills when figuring out my career. As for the RUP students at first they were relatively quiet but once we asked them questions they were very responsive and even asked us questions, I could definitely tell they enjoyed the scavenger hunt.”
This student’s reflection on the service-learning project helped him connect and understand how his part in this community experience links back to his in class curriculum, while also helping him learn a bit more about himself.
It seemed as though I was not the only person who favored the scavenger hunt. For me, it was heartwarming to see the students engaged and asking questions about where they were, what clubs were offered, and what sorts of extra curricular activities were available. The RUP students went everywhere from the Green Music Center to the Makerspace located on the second floor of the Library.
The service-learning course instructor, Kristin Denver, talked about her SSU students involved and a bit about the event saying, “I think the setup and preparation we did in anticipation of today is enough to make an early morning on a Friday easy and exciting.” Denver and I then discussed her thoughts about the turnout, with excitement in her tone, it was incredibly inspiring to hear. While I personally have never participated in a service-learning event, it was fascinating to talk and listen to the RUP students experience. It was very exciting to see the kids so eager to learn about all Sonoma State had to offer, especially when they asked about all the majors we provided.
After the kids settled, I was able to talk with Roseland Universities Prep’s very own College & Career Center Specialist/Volunteer Coordinator, Sean Kerr about how the event turned out overall and what it means to him as well as the students.
“The energy was great and this has been the biggest turn out we’ve ever had from our RUP students,” said Sean Kerr. “Now we are starting to see some of our graduates in this program, so we have RUP student alumni who are now leading the group, so that kind of connection is really amazing. We see that the RUP students are experiencing a bit more reality with the idea of transitioning to college, but the SSU students always know how to connect with our kids.”