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Music. Should I ask the question again or is that fine? Sure or that's fine, it doesn't
matter. It's recording now whenever you're ready. Ok, I'll ask it again. Why do you think
it is important to give back to your community? It's important to give back to the community
because, especially in pertaining to the youth, because they are our future so the ideas that
they feel and what they learn now is going to affect what our children in turn are going
to learn so it's just a cycle of giving back. You know, doing something bigger than yourself.
I think this, they will take this idea beyond graduation, but they're also forming relationships
and alliances between not only themselves and the classroom but, UMD and the community
which hopefully will go on for a long time. I think our society needs to move towards
more of a community setting, I think helping each other out and being a support for each
other is going to be what makes us successful in the future. So, if we learn that in school
settings such as college and really set these students up for success in the future, I think
they're better people for it. What is the PAL Project? The PAL Project is a tutoring
and mentoring program that is designed to help lower the achievement gap for identified
youth in the Duluth Public Schools. Why did you choose to do PAL over the other available
options? When I, I remember being in second grade and I had like this tutor who came in,
her name was Annette, and I remember every Tuesday and Thursday at one o'clock I was
so excited that she would come in and help me out with math and it was like something
that I looked forward to every week, and so if I could like be that person to someone
else, that's awesome. Should I answer this honestly? Yeah. Alright, I actually was forced
to do the PAL Project because I was already doing the Global Villages project so, I had
to do PAL for one of my options. I actually really enjoyed it and if I had to pick if
again I would in a heartbeat. Do you think the youth you worked with looked up to you
as a role model? Oh definitely, I mean they would ask me questions about why things worked,
or why I did things, what my life was like and different experiences that I had, different
things about me that they would almost emulate, or I'd see them do something a little bit
like what I did so I had to make sure that I was being very proper and a good role model
in that sense. Why do you offer community-based learning options such as PAL, into your class
curriculum? I think this is an excellent opportunity to take what they're learning in the course
and apply it somewhere in the real world and I had concerns at the beginning that maybe
the students wouldn't make that connection but through their presentations, they really
are. Did you find it difficult to serve once a week for two hours? Not really. There was
times when I was like "ugh I just want to be done with my day" and then once you get
there and once you work with the kids it's just so much fun and, you're like "wow, I'm
really glad that I did that" like as soon as you walk into the school it's like ugh
you just get excited about it. If you had to describe PAL in one word what would it
be? I don't know if one word could describe it really, I don't know it's a whole bunch
of different ideas. You're just making a huge difference in their lives so, I guess it would
maybe be like life-changing for like the kids or something. I think impactful is the best
way to describe it. I would say that PAL is very gratify, it makes you feel so good like
that you can help somebody else out and that just by showing up you make an impact on like
their lives. One word, impactful. If I had to say one word for the PAL Project I would
say that it was noble. I guess it is cliché to say rewarding but that is definitely the
word. I know it's been used in questions and all that stuff but it truly is the best word
to describe it. It's a feeling you don't get from just sitting around and doing something
else or doing something for your own benefit, this is more for the benefit of others. Rewarding.
How many students have been a part of the PAL Project since it's been implemented here
at UMD? We've had 563 students work with the PAL Project over the course of three semesters,
and in doing so the UMD students dedicated over 11,260 hours while working with the youth
in the Duluth schools. Were you able to see improvements in the youth involved in with
PAL? Absolutely, as a site coordinator I worked with many PAL volunteers who worked with students
in our afterschool program. And after the end of each semester is always great to see
those improvements such as increased spelling scores, increased math scores, just a different
perspective on school in general, just being excited about being at school and really connecting
with someone at the site, so. Would you recommend PAL to other UMD students? Yeah, it's uh,
it's a great program and then like I work with kids all the time in the summer and I
enjoy it so much. And I mean I am coming back to the program next semester too, so it's
a great program, I'd like to keep with it. I definitely would, I think that like, you,
I think that most people should do it without having to do it for a class, it's really great
and it's a great way to get involved and help people out. I would definitely recommend the
PAL Project to other students, especially if you're even considering teaching or even
being involved with younger people. It's very rewarding and you learn a lot, about yourself.
I absolutely would. Again, I think it's really great to get involved with the community and
I think PAL is just a really great way to learn about yourself and learn about your
passion in life and bring that back to the students that you're assisting with one on
one or in a group setting.