Service Learning Reflection Paper

For my service learning, I volunteered at the MDC Kendall Campus Single Stop Office. Under the supervision of Monica Darden, I completed certain tasks in order to help students stay in college and graduate. I passed out flyers to inform the community all the benefits the program offers. I assisted students in applying for various benefits if they were eligible. I made phone calls to get them to make an appointment for financial counseling or tax preparation. I helped the students to make those processes smoother, easier, and shorter.
I became interested in volunteering at Single Stop right away I heard one of my classmate talk about it. I enjoy seeing that students do care about helping others through difficult times, and that is the program’s mission. Single Stop is a great program that helps students with worries that do not let them go further into education. It assists students and family members in securing state and federal benefits. It also provides financial coaching, some legal resources and free tax preparation.
While doing my service learning, I realized that even though the activities I performed were not completely related to my major, in a certain way they will help me in
the future. I want to be a nurse, which means I will have to interact with all kinds of people all the time. The fact that I am a shy person can prevent me from being a successful nurse, but the experience I had at Single Stop changed everything. I have enhanced my interpersonal and communication skills. I was in constant interaction, which allowed me to learn about others, the community, and most important about myself.
I think my experience was amazing because I discovered the advantage service learning provides.
I applied the academic skills and knowledge learned in my leadership course, such as problem-solving, critical thinking, public speaking, and interpersonal skills, to address real-life needs in my community. I gained important personal insights about who I am and what I am capable of. I learned how to be more tolerant and patient with people that do not always know how to make their ideas clear. I developed leadership skills as I learned to work collaboratively with the community. Service learning helps me to define my aspirations, values and career path. It rewarded me with a set of skills I need to succeed, but most importantly, it helped me to reaffirm how much I enjoy helping
people.
Something that surprised me while I was doing my service learning was the fact that not a lot of students know about the Single Stop program and all the benefits it provides. Another thing that surprised me and disappointed me at the same time was that some students are disrespectful. While I was passing out flyers, some students took them and threw them away right in front of my face, and others do not even pay attention at what I was saying about the Single Stop program.
Despite those inconveniences, I would like to repeat the experience I had at the MDC Kendall Campus Single Stop Office, but to be honest, I will look for another place to do my future services learning. I think I already acquired all the knowledge that the Single Stop could provide me, therefore, I want to volunteer in another place because I will be able to get a new experience and skills.