Meet Clare Stephenson a junior at Augustana College from Normal, Illinois. When she is not on campus moving between her Communication Studies and Religion classes she is running the Augustana program called Opportunity Kicks Tutoring or pursuing her internship in World Relief Moline. A common trait of both organizations is that they serve refugees, which is Claire’s major passion.
How did everything start?
At first, I really just wanted to work with kids and Opportunity Kicks was way to do that; through working with them, I learned more about working with refugees which lead me to World Relief. Now, I work at a refugee resettlement agency as well at a program that tutors refugees and immigrant students. I get both their parents, their families, and their arrival stories. After they are resettled, we help them get educated which is something I am really passionate about – helping them get back on track and to get as much of a normal life as they can.
What are the most gratifying moments that you have experienced throughout this journey?
Seeing some of my students grade going from C’s in my first year with them to all A’s by the beginning of my second year. Being able to be there for their big moments such as part of their birthday parties, first communions, orchestra concerts, always being able to be them be successful. Part of my internship was helping with Green Card applications and citizenship processes, so seeing people obtaining the chance to become part of a country that they love and find a way to make this place their home has been amazing; especially with my students who have grown up here and were able to find a home with Opportunity Kicks first, which made them want to become citizens in this country. Currently, I am helping one of my students get his citizenship in the United States, he is currently eighteen years old and he really wants to do it so we are starting the process; I am paying for it I am excited to see him get to do all the things he loves after obtaining his citizenship.
Describe some of the difficulties that you have experienced in your everyday tasks.
Working with thirteen-year-olds, the age most of my students have now is hard in general because being refugees or not, this age presents its own problems. But I think the hardest part is that you want to do everything you can, especially when I am working with the cases that I manage at World Relief to help them and be there for them at all costs, but you also have to balance your school work and the other commitments that you have made to friends and other different organizations. Basically, it is difficult trying to balance that out while you do everything you can to help these families have their place in this country while they are still adjusting their lives in the United States.
Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
I would like to be graduated from a Master program in Social Work, hopefully working in either refugee resettlement or child welfare. I would like to continue working with students and families coming to the United States and helping them find some normality in their lives. In other words, being able to work what I have already started.
How do people who are interested in this type of programs can get involved and how do you think it can benefit them to understand what is going on in the country nowadays?
For tutoring, it is once a week it’s at Augustana College. Anybody who is interested is welcome to contact me and I can give more information on that what we do; we are always accepting new tutors throughout the year because the more tutors we have the most students we can take which is great for us. And working for a refugee ressentiment agency, it is really easy since you only have to find the one that is in your area by googling “refugee resettlements for the Quad Cities”. The organization is World Relief and the volunteering application is online; as a result, you fill it out, we call you, you do your volunteering orientation and then you are a volunteer – we call you as we need you for whatever services you sign up for. The most important part about working with refugees is that it puts a face to the refugee’s crisis since it is so much more than just Syrian refugees; there are African, Asian refugees, from all over the world. You kind of see the human side of it because so often people are afraid of something because they only understand the ideas that are presented to them, but they don’t the human aspect of it; for example, the daily life of the refugees, what it really means to be a refugee, and how diverse refugee population are.
If you want to see more about her amazing job, follow Clare on Instagram! @claresteph5