Spring break is often a time for college students to relax in places like Florida or Mexico, but for a group of 50-plus Howard University students, it’s a chance to share their experiences and interact with elementary students in Buffalo schools.
Howard University junior Millie Degboe is visiting Buffalo for the first time this week, but it’s her third time working with students through the university’s Alternative Spring Break volunteer program. It’s fulfilling to work with students and understand the different behavioral dynamics, especially as someone interested in pediatric care, she said.
“We come in here wanting to mentor them, but honestly, sometimes they just want to talk, and we just want to hear what they have to say, and make them feel heard and seen," Degboe said. "That's a big part of, like, talking to them. And then when you get to those upper grades, like hearing about their lives and what they find interesting, and then, kind of, tying that into what we find interesting.”
This is the program’s second year coming to Buffalo, partnering locally with M&T Bank’s Buffalo Promise Neighborhood, including schools like Westminster Community Charter School.
Seeing college students succeed shows the younger students that pursuing higher education is a possibility, and it helps that some of the volunteers are back for a second year, Westminster Principal Teresa Gerchman said.
“It just takes hard work, but they also see it's not something that's … untouchable. It's attainable, they actually know people, they have faces for people," she said. "And like some of the people from last year are here again this year, so they're actually seeing the same kids there. And some of my kids are like, ‘I remember you,’ but it's nice. And the fact that they're here for a whole week gives them multiple different kinds of experiences.”
Learning from HBCU students is important for the elementary and middle school children because it can provide role models in higher education whom they can also identify with, Degboe said.
“A lot of these students are Black and Brown, and Howard is an HBCU," she said. "Being able for them to hear from people that look like them and have, kind of, a similar-lived experience as them is also really important.”
The program focus varies by grade level, with read-aloud lessons for younger students, while upper levels learn about the history of HBCUs and create their own presentations about the path to college, Gerchman said.
