Community Service

      For the required five hours of community service for Freshmen, I worked as a CCD teacher. CCD stands for Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, which was established in Rome for the purpose of religious instruction. So, I taught my very own class of five first graders all the basics of the Roman Catholic religion. The class I taught took place on Mondays and went from September to March, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. In total, the hours I taught are around twenty two seeing as each class lasted one hour. Having never taught youth before, or rather, having never taught anyone before this proved to be a challenge for me.

            My first day on the job I shadowed my Mom as she taught my class so I could get the feel of what exactly would be expected of me as a teacher. I worked with the students under her guidance and after awhile of teaching them I truly felt like I had bonded with them all. There were definitely days that I questioned my ability to lead them but there were other days I felt like I was exactly where I belonged as their teacher. I learned a lot about myself as a leader through this experience and have learned many great communication skills which I will use throughout my life.

            Teaching is not and never will be my true calling in life. But, I feel that teaching that class was a true service to my religious community. The first graders I taught will hopefully remember me as they grow into the adults they will someday be and maybe they too will get out there and do some community service. It really does make you a better person by the end of it.  Would I do it again? Yes, I believe I happily would.