At St. Lawrence, CBL stands for Community Based Learning, and is a community service and civil engagement component that complements a range of classes. Through the CBL program, students are connected with various organizations in the local and greater communities to engage and volunteer. During my very first semester of college, I found myself in the CBL program in a placement at St. Mary’s School and it taught me a few very valuable lessons. The CBL Program itself may be specific to St. Lawrence, but opportunities to serve and to engage in local communities while in college are certainly not! Don’t overlook the experiences that service work and civil engagement can present to you. For me, my CBL changed everything.
It taught me perspective – Through my CBL I was able to gain a new perspective on what it means to be privileged, but also on what it means to be impoverished. Canton is one of the poorest counties in the state of New York, and engaging with the youth of this community opened my eyes in a significant way. While my role as a volunteer at St. Mary’s School’s after school program was simply to implement leadership and a positive learning environment, I was also exposed to a more personal understanding of these children’s lives. Coming from a fortunate, tight knit family, nurturing attention was something I always experienced. But I learned that here, the attention I gave to these children, for some, was often the most individualized attention they received. My CBL taught me the importance of perspective in all aspects of our lives. To maintain a clear perspective within our own life is central to our wellbeing, but understanding the perspective of others is what allows us to powerfully make a difference in the world today.
It taught me to always remember the power of patience – Working with children in any setting often requires patience. But working with children who range in age from 6 to 12 and come from an array of family backgrounds proved its own challenge. Through my CBL I learned the power of patience. I learned that when I was patient, the children were more willing to collaborate with me. Children often act out because they simply desire attention, but patience has the power to not only show them attention, but also give them the opportunity be collaborative and feel as though their presence truly matters. However, I feel that this understanding of patience is not only something that is present with children. The power of patience never fades.
It taught me what ‘community’ really means – I have never felt so engaged and s connected to a local community as I do now, after having experienced a CBL placement. Some of the children I worked with are St. Lawrence faculty children, whose parents I now know and communicate with. Others are simply local children whose families I have never met. My gCBL may be over, but the sense of community it has given me simply continues to grow. These children have looked for me in the stands at their hockey games as I watched from alongside their parents. They have come to my team’s lacrosse games, and stood beside the door to squeak in a quick ‘hi’ as I follow the team to the locker room. Even in the dining hall, on Easter morning, I saw one of them with his family. He asked me when I was coming back to St. Mary’s and told me he would be practicing basketball all summer and that I should too; I had to be ready for next fall! Being eight hours from a family of my own, knowing that children look up to me the way I have always looked up to my own brother and cousins gives me a sense of peace and a true understanding of what ‘community’ means.
*All photos credited to Brooke Kelly