Every 26 seconds, a student in America drops out of a public high school. City Year works to help those kids stay on track.
On Jan. 28 City Year representative Emmanuel Paul Sterling will be joining the campus for an information session about the 2010 term of City Year beginning this August.† The program takes place in various surrounding locations including Cleveland, Columbus and other major cities between the East and West coasts.
City Year is an AmeriCorps program that focuses on shaping the lives of children and enriching the communities of which they are a part.† Each City Year participant must devote 10 months and 1700 hours of service through a handful of different opportunities.
Participation includes tutoring and mentoring children, working to establish after-school programs, assisting teachers and generally becoming an influential part of a childís life.† In the community aspect, City Year works to help rebuild neighborhoods and perform other physical service projects.† In doing so, they are able to visibly improve the community and inspire others to continue on their work.
The full year of service starts with Basic Training in August.† The program officially kicks off in the schools and communities in September. In January, the group reconvenes to participate in advanced training; discussing helpful techniques and approaches.† In February and April, City Year hosts City Year Camp to help keep students on breaks enriched and engaged.† The program is completed in June and students are flooded with a host of different opportunities.
With numerous Wooster alumni currently involved in the program, it proves to be a good fit for Wooster students of all backgrounds. Dierre Taylor í09, currently located in New York City describes City Year as a great way for students ìto implement what they have learned in an academic setting and apply that to the real world and real peopleís lives.”
Sarah Gollwitzer í09, who works on the Civic Engagement team in Cleveland, praised City Year for the perspective it has given her. ìIt may be easy to take a sociology course and say how inner city schools are in bad shape Ö but it is absolutely something else to go into one of these schools first-hand, see how poor the buildings may be or how out of control the kids are, but also to be able to say that you went in there and helped someone read today,” she said.
All of the City Year participants come from different backgrounds and have different life goals when they leave City Year ó some are pursuing careers in public policy and others plan to go law school. Some have no idea what they want to do.† Ryan McMahon í08 assures that regardless of your future plans, City Year is a great starting point. ìThere are few, if any, other organizations that will give so much responsibility to those who are basically in an entry-level position.† The amount of exposure that you get in City Year, both in terms of experience and connections, is unmatched,” said McMahon.
Regardless of what they may have been doing before they joined or what they are planning on doing after, City Yearís participants share one common thread ó their experience with service.
Both in and out of the program, City Year boasts many benefits and opportunities for its participants.† During your time in the program they provide you with a weekly stipend to accommodate the burden of living expenses. They provide you with health and child insurance, a T-mobile cell phone and they facilitate your living situation by helping connect you with potential roommates.
Once the students complete their term they receive an education award in the amount of $5,350.† This money can be applied to graduate or vocational school and can also be applied to current or future qualified loans. During their term they can apply to defer their loan and have the interest paid by Americorps. To help further their career, they become a member of a nationwide network of 11,000 alumni. The network provides students with new volunteer and service opportunities as well as the possibility for career networking.
Most important is the experience students walk away with. For Taylor one of the most memorable things he has experienced has been getting one of his kindergarteners to write his name on his own. ìWatching his confidence and self-esteem rise over the past couple months has truly been fascinating,” he said.
For more information about the City Year program or the Wooster experience within contact Emmanuel Paul Sterling at ESterling@cityyear.org or attend the information sesion on January 28 at 11a.m. in Lowry 119. Time and place are subject to change.