Keegan Sanborn

Community Service Project

5/4/22

For my community service project, I decided to volunteer in a classroom. My girlfriend teaches

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5 grade at an elementary school in Racine, Wisconsin. Many of her students suffer from poor home
lives, which greatly affects their mood and ability to participate in school effectively. Many students
have constant run-ins with the principal, or exhibit inappropriate outbursts multiple times a day while in
the classroom. I thought it would be a good experience for some of the students to have a new face in
the classroom, and possibly have another person they could talk to about what’s going on in their lives.

5th Grade classroom I was volunteering in

Throughout my time at the University of Iowa pursuing my bachelor’s degree, I participated in

Big Brother Big Sisters (BBBS). This organization taught me so much about giving back to the community,
helping those going through tough situations and building relationships with younger generations. I was
a big brother to an elementary student for 5 years in college and we grew an amazing relationship
throughout our time together. I saw so much growth in my little and felt that we truly made a great
match. I think having this past experience with BBBS gave me a unique opportunity to try and build
relationships with some current students.

I spent the entire day in the classroom. While students were at specials (gym, art, music, etc.) I
helped with organizational tasks such as grading worksheets, printing new assignments and hanging
student accomplishments in the hallway for peers to see. With the kids in the classroom, I roamed
around the room and helped kids as needed with assignments or past activities that hadn’t been
completed yet. At one point, I worked with two students who had missed the last few days of school fill
out a survey to help them think about their progress in the classroom academically and behaviorally
throughout the year. I think one of the best parts of the day was recess with the kids. Because I was new
to the classroom, they all wanted me to play kickball. I obliged because I saw how much it seemed to
mean to the kids that I participated in their outdoor adventures. I also raced a few kids on the
playground because they seemed to think that I was really slow due to my “old age”.

I had an amazing time with the 5th grade students and learned a lot about myself in the process.
I learned how fortunate I am to have grown up the way I did. I enjoyed school when I was younger,
where many of these kids can’t say the same. This showed me that I have an opportunity to mentor as
many struggling youth as I can. Spending even one day with these kids can make a huge impact on their
lives. My girlfriend has told me that some of the students have asked if I’ll be coming back, so I’m going
to make sure I spend another day in her room during my semester break coming up in two weeks.

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