For the third year in a row, Syracuse University students are becoming the teachers by volunteering for the ‘Cuse Spot Initiative, a student-run program connecting the community and SU students through classes.

With more than 20 volunteers this year, the program features classes such as taekwondo, origami and photography, all taught and run by volunteer SU students, said Emily Park, ‘Cuse Spot public relations director.

Many SU students get so involved in activities on campus, they don’t realize the community center is only a five-minute walk away, said Christine Ward, co-creator and co-founder of the program.

“It helps SU students get off the Hill and see what the city is like,” she said. “And from the city’s side of the program, it keeps them engaged during their break and gives them new experiences.”

The classes are held for public elementary and middle school children in the Syracuse area during their mid-winter break in February, when they learn a new skill or talent. This year, the program has an estimated 50-60 students signed up, with the most popular class being a cooking course led by a student nutrition major from SU, Ward said.

“We do grocery shopping trips, sponsored through donations by local businesses, with the kids, and then they come back and prepare the day’s meal. The kids make a great meal, and they get a lot out of working with SU students,” said Sarah Walton, co-founder and co-director of the program.

Although the lessons are designed for children, Walton and Ward agreed the program was just as rewarding of an experience for the students who volunteer and teach the classes.

“As an educational program, a lot of these students go in with the mindset to teach, but I think they walk away learning a lot more about themselves,” Walton said. “It’s really nice for the volunteers to get off the Hill for a little bit, get away from the textbooks and do something that’s fun and gives back.”

The classes have a very loose structure, allowing volunteers to be free with their lesson plans, so long as it fills the two-hour time slot and engages a class of up to 15 students, Ward said.

‘Cuse Spot led an extensive recruitment across campus for volunteer teachers, reaching out to students from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, the College of Visual and Performing Arts and the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, Ward said. The students then go through an application process where they send in the courses they would like to teach, which are reviewed and selected by the coordinators.

“I think that’s why students are so attracted to volunteering for the ‘Cuse Spot,” said Park, the program’s public relations director. “It’s community service, but it’s doing something that you’re really passionate about. It’s not like a soup kitchen, where you’re told what to do. It’s teaching kids something you really love doing already,”

Ward and Walton both served as volunteer teachers in previous years. Ward taught craft-making and Walton taught a culture of India class during the weeklong program.

“We brought in marshmallows and uncooked spaghetti for the kids to build towers with, so a lot of my classes were fun, team-building activities,” Ward said about teaching. “I loved working with the kids. I usually do a lot of administrative duties, so having an opportunity like that was nice.”

Published on February 17, 2013 at 10:46 pm

Contact Alfred: alng@syr.edu

@alfredwkng