Comunidad Comunidad
Volunteering
During the Pandemic
I
by Marvin Meza (English)
began volunteering with the Laser program during the spring of 2020. Currently, I am a senior majoring in English Literature. I have been volunteering ever since I transferred to Ohio State, but my first volunteering experience was at the Mid-Ohio Worker’s Union. I began my volunteering with Laser once I switched majors from Economics to English. My former professor Carlos Kelly convinced me to switch majors when he realized my passion for proper media representation and cultural appropriation in literature. He also informed me about Laser and how I could become a volunteer. Laser is a program where Latinx students at Ohio State can mentor students at Columbus area high schools prepare for college. When I took his class, he was so excited to see me because I was the first Latinx student he had ever taught at Ohio State. I was simply mind blown at the fact that I had a Latinx professor at a prestigious university like Ohio State. Initially, I was excited when I got the letter of acceptance from OSU, but I quickly found out what it was like to attend a majority white university as a Latinx student. Having a role model like professor Kelly helped me realize that I could potentially have a future in academia. I originally attended OSU to get a BA in Computer Science. I wanted a well-paying job as soon as I finished college, but I never considered enjoying the work I would be pursuing a career in. Since switching majors I have decided that I want to pursue grad school in English so that I can further my education. Mentoring has sparked a passion in me to help younger Latinx students navigate higher education. Volunteering during the pandemic has been a huge adjustment that is still difficult to grapple 18
with. Additionally, the pandemic has made everyday life stressful. Socializing through zoom is simply not the same, and I miss being able to hug my friends without second guessing myself. Hybrid classes during the fall gave me some sense of normalcy even when we were socially distanced. However, I lost that sense of normalcy when classes were made fully online during the last few weeks of the semester. I’m excited that my classes this spring semester are mostly in-person, but I know that the decision to make classes online again is just around the corner. Before the pandemic, I really enjoyed being face to face, volunteering with students and reminiscing on my time in high school. However, when I was in their shoes, I didn’t have the same resources that a program like Laser provided. Having our volunteering sessions over Zoom creates a big disconnect and makes it difficult to build relationships with the students on a different level. It’s a frustrating position to be in. Sometimes it is even difficult to hear what the students are saying; for example, in one session we discussed different university types and we couldn’t hear what the students were sharing. We quickly adapted by having students submit online responses, but it still is not the same as being there in person. Before the pandemic, we would be in the classroom and whenever students had a question, they would just raise their hand. Volunteering in-person, my fellow mentors and I would drive to the school and meet with the students. This past semester I would log on to Zoom for 45 minutes before my classes started and as soon as the session was finished, I closed my laptop and walked right to class.
