Pinewoods Library

This semester I have had the incredible opportunity to spend my Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at Pinewoods Library in Athens, GA up towards Danielsville. Pinewoods Library serves the residents of Pinewoods Estates and mostly draws people of Hispanic descent. Though they have several different volunteer opportunities available, I spent time tutoring and helping elementary children with their homework.

Activities typically varied day by day. Shockingly, it was very difficult at times to make a bunch of elementary school children do their homework. Most of them were friends with one another, which made them especially good at distracting each other. On top of that, there was a constant race to the computers to play games. Because of these distractions, I think my most important role was solely to keep them on task. When I was able to manage their ability to stay focused, we spent a lot of time on math homework. Although I know they were challenged by it, it definitely made me scratch my head a few times as well. It is amazing how much we take calculators for granted as we leave our younger school years. One of my favorite activities was listening to them read aloud. For me personally, it was amazing to see the progress that they would make just from practicing and working hard. It is exciting for me to see their excitement at their own progress. When we weren’t doing academic related things, we spent a lot of time playing games. I loved when we were able to just hang out because that was when we really got to know one another. I love listening to the things kids say and being able to talk to them about the things they want to talk about.

It was rewarding for me personally to give back to the Athens community that has given me so much as far as a strong education and a place I feel at home. I feel like I always come back to it, but we really do get so much out of serving others. It’s amazing how what at first seemed like just giving up my time became something that brightened my days and something that I looked forward to. I strongly encourage UGA students and anyone else that is part of the Athens community to give back, and prepare themselves to be amazed at how much they can get out of it. Tutoring at Pinewoods Library for me was an incredible experience and I would recommend it to anyone.