Volunteers help kids learn ABCs
One service club on campus takes education to a different level.
STAR (Students Teaching Arithmetic and Reading) comprises Utah State University students from a variety of disciplines.
The program was started in 1994 by an elementary education major named Emily English. She started it in order to be a help in the community, said Jennifer Minchey, the director of the program and a sophomore majoring in elementary education.
“The STAR Program gets USU students into an elementary classroom for an hour each week. We are currently participating with eight elementary schools in Cache Valley and four after-school programs called the Boys and Girls Club,” Minchey said. “The primary goal of this program is to expose children to quality literature and help them gain a love for reading.”
Minchey said she hopes volunteers will see the benefit and importance of helping others, especially children, and it is a great opportunity for USU students to help out local schools.
“Currently we have 85 volunteers helping in Cache Valley, most of which are elementary education majors, but we can always use more people from any major,” Minchey said.
Mentoring elementary school children has its good moments.
“The opportunity to go into these classrooms is very rewarding,” said Arminta Johnson, a sophomore in costume design. “You get to help these kids build self-confidence by learning.”
Haylee Norr, a senior majoring in public relations who has just started volunteering for the program, said she had a good experience tutoring in high school and hopes this experience is similar.
“I really want to be a good mentor for the students and to befriend them through teaching them reading,” she said. “Also, I hope to work one-on-one with the students, and to be a help in improving their abilities in the areas they are lacking.”
Johnson said, “Anyone can help. You don’t have to be a teacher to teach. Volunteering can make you feel good because you are helping others.”
Emma Collins, a junior majoring in family and consumer science education, said she enjoys teaching because it is her major.
“It gets you used to teaching. It’s rewarding to be there and help them out,” Collins said.
Rachel Jones, a USU alumna who graduated in elementary education, worked as a school director and volunteer from 1995 to 1997.
“I liked being a volunteer because it was helpful in my area of study, also I was able to have an actual classroom experience by working with elementary students,” she said.
The program may at times be demanding for volunteers, but the students enjoy it.
“You work with the kids that need the most help first then down the line,” Collins said. “Sometimes it’s hard for them to open up and talk to you or even read to you, but once they get past it, they really enjoy it.”
Jones said the program is also helpful to teachers in Cache Valley.
“I had the opportunity to work with the same first grade teacher a couple years in a row,” she said. “She thought it was wonderful to have the help. The students were just starting to learn how to read and the extra one-on-one was very beneficial.”
Minchey said, “With teachers having to handle class sizes of 30 or more students, they really need our help.”
The opportunity for volunteer service is not limited to education majors but is open to everyone.
Dan Phelps the Associated Students of USU director of the Val R. Christensen Service Center, said, “There is something for everyone. Even sociology students come in to get their three hours of service. We really appreciate our volunteers.”
Students who wish to volunteer are encouraged to go to the service center on the third floor of the Taggart Student Center, Room 327 or go online at www.usu.edu/voice/star.html and fill out an application. The only requirement is that volunteers are able to put in one daytime hour per week.
-joshrober@cc.usu.edu