New Opportunities

            I had never heard of jumpstart before I transferred this semester to American University. Stacia got my attention for this program the second she started telling me about it at the fair. I couldn’t be happier that I decide to join in. I didn’t have any experience with 4 year olds and I knew it would be a challenge, but I was willing to give it all I had.

           Every Tuesday and Friday morning can be rough, because my day starts at 7 am, which is when I get up and get ready to head off to the AU shuttle, where it takes me to Tenleytown so I can meet my members of Jumpstart and get on the metro to make our way to Anacostia. However, the second I step inside the classroom it makes it all worth it. Even though sessions can have outbreaks of crying, screaming 4 year olds and the attention span is to a minimal, it all works out in the end. Even though the children don’t seem to pay attention, in the next session when you ask them questions, they know the answer. Which is remarkable.

            Originally, I started looking for a volunteer opportunity because I need it for my child psychology course. Working with the children has helped me see first hand the developmental stages that we learn in that class, such as cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional development. However, my child psychology class is the last thing I think about while I’m in there. The first time I went into the classroom I was super nervous, but now though it’s great. I’ve been able to see how much of an impact Jumpstart has had on these children from session to session. I get to see how much they improve and I’ve gotten to know so many of the children. It’s so great when a child comes up to me and says, “Hey, Ms. Penny, look what I did”.  I’ve definitely had some funny experiences as well, such as looking over at two children who were playing in the kitchen and the 4 year old boy going up to the 4 year girl and saying, “hey baby”. I lost my mind; it’s unbelievable what these children know at such a young age. Ha-ha.   

             All in all, I have absolutely no regrets on joining jumpstart, and I cannot wait for next semester to continue being in the classroom

Panayiota Larigakis
Corps Member
Team Dedication