“After one and a half years volunteering with Frontier College, I can full heartedly say that the experience has been one of the most rewarding I’ve had so far. My initial thoughts on Frontier College were that volunteering with them would only help and reward the students and children that I tutored. Therefore, I started tutoring with the linear idea that only the students benefited and I was just volunteering my time, perhaps similar to other volunteer-oriented organizations. I quickly realized that I was wrong.
From my involvement, Frontier College provides an equally rewarding experience for both the tutor and the student. I’ve been able to improve many vital life skills and develop new ones, which will help me become a better person in the community and going forward. As for the students, almost all attend tutoring sessions each and every week. It’s clear that as a volunteer, you are genuinely helping the educational well being of the student. I’ve been tutoring different students over the past year and a half and nothing feels better then when he or she tells me, “I actually like to read now”, or “Wow, math is kind of easy then!” For me, when I hear things like that I don’t even consider it volunteering. I just think of tutoring these kids as a fun activity that I’m gratefully honoured to be able to do. No other volunteering experience comes close to the reward you get from actively taking interest in the education of these students.
The students that come to the George Dixon center every week are an interesting crew. They range from five and six to 12 and 13 years old. Each student possesses unique learning tools and each possesses learning hurdles that present challenges. Although each student is different, they seem to, for the most part, share the common goal of wanting to learn. They want to learn and become better students. They want to be better at math or reading or writing or spelling. As a tutor, it’s easy to volunteer every week when I know the student wants to be there. When he or she wants to learn and benefits from what I say and do as a tutor, there is no better feeling. I cannot stress enough how rewarding my time has been with Frontier College.
To sum up my experience with Frontier College and tutoring the learners at the George Dixon, it has been one of the most rewarding undertakings I’ve ever done. I look forward to helping these kids each and every week and I’ll hopefully have a long relationship with Frontier College in the future.”–JC Kaiser, Halifax