This past weekend a team of Dartmouth volunteers teamed up to introduce a group of youth from Boston to New Hampshire and college life. The youth, all young teens and preteens, came from within the city of Boston and, for the majority, it was their first look at life in a rural setting.
Each volunteer took shifts; mine was from Saturday night till Sunday morning. That night, the group was scheduled to go up to the DOC's Harris Cabin, but because of the weather and other complicating circumstances, the kids stayed in the Tucker Foundation. The other volunteers and I, in an effort to do something "outdoorsy" with the kids, took them to Lone Pine Stump and the BEMA.
As we walked further away from the lights of the main campus, towards the BEMA, the kids became increasingly uncomfortable. Walking in back I noticed that one of the boys who had been playing tough football on the green only minutes before, was now lagging behind with a concerned expression on his face. It took a few minutes of coaxing before he would walk on the wooded path towards the BEMA. Once on the field, however, this same boy jumped up and down in excitement after having seen his first shooting star.
The experience of this boy and other children who had similar experiences throughout the weekend are what make the North Country Weekend vital to Dartmouth's community outreach program. These kids have never been in a setting such as Hanover, yet, they need to experience it to know what they can aspire to. They need to learn options other than staying within the city.
The kids are taken out of their comfort zones, an experience vital to learning and maturing. The boy who was scared walking to the BEMA in the dark may not be frightened in Boston at night. Yet, he and the others in this group need to be taken out of their familiar settings so that, if they wish to, they know they can move beyond the familiarity of the inner-cities later in life.
Reverend King, who read the kids "Green Eggs and Ham" on Saturday night, echoes the same opinion. She says she hopes they gain "a new and different perspective" from the weekend. The kids, she says, need "a sense that this [college] is a thing they can do, too. It gives them hope."
The weekend imparts a knowledge and familiarity with college life and learning. By getting to know college students, the volunteers, and using college facilities, the kids gain a comfort level with college in general. The advantage here, as Rev. King puts it, "Down the road, when someone mentions 'What about college?' it won't be such a foreign concept to them."
In addition to Rev. King's reading of Dr. Suess, Professor Rassius gave a language workshop in his usual explosive and interactive style. One girl, when asked her favorite activity, mentioned the workshop. At a s'mores campfire at SAE the boys were using the Greek they had learned to tell each other "Stop" and "Go." Both Rev. King's reading and Prof. Rassius' workshop encourage learning, a lesson that did not seem to be lost on the kids.
At the end of the weekend, all people involved in it made a circle. One person started with a ball of yarn and shared an experience they liked about the weekend. Holding onto one end each person tossed the string to someone across the circle, in effect, making a web of connections among each person. The web is a metaphor for the connections made between kids, chaperones, and volunteers throughout the weekend.
Most of the kids in the group did not know each other before coming to North Country Weekend. However, the connections they made here will stay with them back in Boston. As one chaperone pointed out, later on in adolescence, they are less likely to fight against each other if they remember each other from this weekend.
The volunteers from Dartmouth made very important connections with the kids. These students were role models for the children; through the Dartmouth volunteers, the kids see what they can aspire to.
Similarly, volunteers get a glimpse of what it means to be a kid again. To marvel at the Montshire Museum, roast s'mores, and think the best thing about the weekend was staying up all night. Both volunteers and the kids got brief, and yet indelible connection into each other's lives.