Shadow Day is the time once a year when Juniors from Roseland University Prep visit Sonoma State University and accompany college students throughout their activities. Dr. Jessica Hobson's service-learning Psychology 302 Lifespan Development class prepared for this event with readings on life stages, the benefits of service-learning, and some history on the area of Roseland in which RUP is located.
I have been a part of Shadow Day since 2013 and it was one of the first events I participated as student assistant in the Center for Community Engagement (CCE). In my years of doing this, I have only had a student shadow me once. Being an observer of the event and participating have been very different learning experiences for me.
I was paired with Ilse Barajas. We are both shy but we were still able to ask each other questions and get to know each other. Ilse enjoys soccer and is a part of AVID and also tutors other students. Additionally, said she has in interest in studying kinesiology when she gets to college and possibly joining a club like MEChA. I made sure to tell her that we have that major and that club at SSU.
One of the activities RUP students could do during left Shadow Day was explore possible majors based on their personality and interests. Several weeks prior, I took a similar test through our Career Services and it was exciting to see that the results of Ilse's personality and interests test closely matched mine. Since it is late in my undergraduate years, the result I got was less new information and more affirming of my trajectory. I was glad that she got the opportunity to see this early because she may have an easier time solidifying her interest in kinesiology or changing her major to something that suits her more while that opportunity is still available. The chance to see one of the student's development is something I would have never had while doing my usual behind the scenes work during Shadow Day.
One of the most important parts of service-learning is reflection. After RUP students left SSU, PSY 409 students participated in a group discussion to talk about how the day went, what they learned, and how it related to the class. Many students agreed that they were surprised at the maturity of their high school shadows. Other things that SSU students shared were stories about the similarities between them and the high schoolers. Since the RUP students are Juniors in high school, not many of them have any idea what what they want to do with their lives. This is the same for many, even soon-graduating, Sonoma State students.
The students later went home and did further reflection by themselves. Of course, taking one or even several service-learning classes does not mean that all students will fully understand what service-learning is about. However, there are some students who come away from their service-learning classes being really thoughtful about the service and it shows in their reflection papers.
In some reflections, SSU students solidified their plans for the future. Senior Chantelle Mahusay says, "Overall, I feel like I learned a lot about myself. I have been working with children ages 5-10 for the past 5 months and I really enjoy it. After shadow day and being a mentor for the RUP students made me realize that I may want to keep working with children and students after college."
Some SSU students engaged with the material from their class and talked about their impact on the the future's of RUP students. Hermelinda Avila says, "Participating in shadow day helped me develop my personality and enhanced my consciousness for the community...The article "Service learning Enhances Education" talks about how enriching service-learning is for the participants." It is great to see how service-learning impacts the students and the community partners. She continues, " ...one of the girls decided that she will come to Sonoma State and get her BS in Biology, and the other girl said she will consider it." As Avila demonstrates, the possible effects of service-learning at the University level to community partners in high school is creating a positive feedback loop that encourages high school students to attend higher education because they have an opportunity to see what college looks like for college students. RUP's College and Career Coordinator Sean Kerr echoes this idea. "The reason we bring the students here every year because it's really beautiful to see the relationships at the end of the day that our 11th graders get with freshmen college students to really break down that wall of how different it is between their world and what college is going to look like. And I think what our students get from all of this is a real confidence boost that they're going to see students much like them when they move on to the college level," Kerr says.
Also, being in class gave my shadow time to think about the differences between high school classrooms and college classrooms. She noticed how big classes can get and how professors teach to these larger classes. "Today's experience really changed the way I see college in the way that teachers really won't be holding onto your hand like in high school, like they usually do in our school," she said. "And when we were in your class [the professor is] just talking... and it's just a really different experience."
I took Ilse to my Geography 206 class instructed by Jeffrey Baldwin entitled, "Society, Environment, and Sustainable Development." The lecture was about how more developed nations don't necessarily develop sustainable practices after industrialization, how global conflict and starvation is projected to kill around 2-3 billion people between 2030 and 2060, and how human populations are dependent on the limits set by global environment. Needless to say, it was not the most light-hearted introduction to college. After class I asked Ilse what she thought of the lecture and she told me that it was different from anything she learns in her usual classes, and to my relief, she really enjoyed the lecture. When I initially brought her to that class, I was worried that the subject material would not be suitable for her or she wouldn't like it. I thought about it more and concluded that this was dismissive on my part. There is no reason why students her age can't or shouldn't learn about social and environmental inequality. I had to take a step back and remember that I am not that much older than her and the realization of inequality would be a shock for someone of any age who had not been previously exposed to it. Further, as the Psychology 409 service-learners studied, Roseland residents and RUP students are not new to social and environmental issues in our area. This Shadow Day, I learned that I as a service-learner have to be just self reflexive during the service-learning as after the service is done.
I tried to make the rest of the day fun by taking her to my BSU meeting and having lunch in the Kitchens located in the Student Center. Even though the idea is to show RUP students a typical day of a college student, I was afraid that I was boring her. Along with that day of the week not being that busy, I am a student that lives at home with my family and commutes a short distance to school each day either by bus or by carpool and did not have much to show her. However, I still think that having student like me participate in Shadow Day is important for showing an accurate college experience. There are many reasons as to why students do not live on campus and there are costs and benefits of that reality. At lunch, I asked Ilse if she wanted to live on campus or stay at home and she said she wasn't sure but didn't want to go too far away from her family. I told her about my experience living at home while being in school full time. What I have to do is not unusual low income and first-generation college students of color who choose a college so close to home. This is the case for many students in Roseland and the pressure to provide extra income, look after elders and younger family members, and maintain grades and relationships feeds into some of the troubles these students may face. For RUP students like Ilse, the choice to stay at home while in college depends on what they want but also on what skills they have and put the effort into developing. They will need support from their families and University programs like EOP to help set boundaries and understand their social and academic responsibilities and needs as students.
Shadow Day takes a lot of time, preparation, and help from outside the service-learning class' students. CCE student assistants, some students from JUMP, as well as students from other classes that volunteer their time. One of the student volunteers, Sasheena Arbogast, is a Junior transfer student studying Fine Arts and Painting in the Department of Art and Art History. "My experience today has been great." She continues, "I think that if all high schools incorporated college tours into their curriculum, that would probably encourage and make kids want to go to college more because they're more comfortable."
Thank you Dr. Jessica Hobson for another great group of service-learners. Thank you to Roseland University Prep for spending the day with us.