[SFU OLC Experience] Building Community Through Teaching

Program:

Other

Organization

TD Community Engagement Centre

Position Title

CommuniCreate Program and Volunteer Supervisor

Experience Faculty

All Faculties

Photo of Jenny Lu

"Becoming a teacher is not only my passion but the other side of teaching is being able to create a sense of welcoming and belonging within the communities."

During my Experience

Day to Day

As a student in the PDP program, I do get up early around 7AM or 7:30AM. With the PDP program currently in a hybrid format, I’m on campus the full day on Wednesdays, online classes are on Mondays and Fridays, and Tuesdays and Thursdays are collaborations days, where students are able to complete assignments at their own pace. Of course on top of her daily schoolwork, after I come home and complete some assignments, I also work on the content for CommuniCreate. I create the lesson plans for the program, and often collaborate with the volunteers for their inputs on the different topics, games, and grammar that we’ll be focusing on the week. I find that meditating helps alongside making sure I have time for myself to decompress, whether that’d be 30 minutes or an hour.

Fun fact: She loves the PowerPoint games that they have because they’re the most engaging as students love it too!

Reflection & Tips

Reflection

When we’re talking about the CommuniCreate Program and Volunteer Supervisor role, a lot of this position aligns with the values and focuses I have over the past 3 years. Being able to create an impact for the community we’re in, really is a rewarding piece. I also had the chance to take my volunteer skills and apply them when I was in South Korea teaching English. At that time, I was teaching English through a well-known English teaching program – TALK. This is an opportunity for university students to teach English in different schools across South Korea. During the time there, I also volunteered to teach English to North Korean refugees. Becoming a teacher is not only my passion but the other side of teaching is being able to create a sense of welcoming and belonging within the communities. Creating that sense of community is really important to me, as it is important for them to also feel a part of the community.

Most Valuable Aspects of This Experience

The part that makes me so happy is watching the students grow, especially seeing the progress of the students. Often times in the beginning of the program, students are a little unfamiliar and shy but by the 3^rd sessions, majority of the students always have their cameras on and are eager to participate. The environment that both the volunteers and students create are such a fun and positive one, anyone attending would have fun! Being a Program and Volunteer Supervisor for CommuniCreate allows me to be a part of the journey for the volunteers, as my job is to guide them. From having the one-to-one conversations, we’re able to personally connect with one another and they often become curious about my PDP program. The fulfilling piece is being able to see how perfectly both students and volunteers work with each other as our ratio for the program right now is two volunteers to five students. Alongside all these positive pieces of course comes with the challenge on creating lesson plans that are inclusive for everyone. Needing to create a lesson plan that suits the different levels of each students becomes the challenge but how we overcome it is by curating it. By grouping students based on their comfortability and levels, it becomes an easier process.

Advice for Future Students

Working with the TD CEC is AMAZING! I’m happy to have joined in with this community. There are so many opportunities for each of us students, regardless of our age and programs. There is always something available and suitable for someone! I also think it’s really important as a citizen to volunteer with your community and it’s always so rewarding. It’s such a rich experience, at the end of the day, you’re not only helping your community but also yourself. Our volunteers are all SFU students and even when it comes exam season when most of us are stressed, I always hear them share how stress-relieving it is to be involved with these programs as volunteers. These programs create a very positive environment where everyone is constantly learning something from each other or from the programs. This is why you all need to be involved with the SFU Surrey -TD Community Engagement Centre!

This blog was originally posted on the SFU Surrey-TD Community Engagement Centre website on November 8, 2021.

Tags:

Community Engagement