HONORS
in the Community
After School
Tutoring program gives UGA students the opportunity to 'pour back' into children in the Athens community Story and photos by Kora Burton
T
he afternoon came together rapidly—volunteer mentors and play. The majority of children enrolled attend either Barrow partnering with elementary students for homework help, Elementary or Clarke Middle, schools within Athens-Clarke County. excited readers pulling books off the shelves of the Lay “We might only get to see the kids for two hours a week, and Park library, and children rushing down the stairs to we might only see them for a semester, but that time alone is play basketball and have a snack after enough to make an impact,” said Taylor schoolwork was done. Pigg, the program’s fourth- and fifthThis routine, on another autumn grade education coordinator and an Wednesday, was all taking place at Honors junior who is studying biology. the Thomas Lay After-School Program. “It’s really nice to be able to pour Every weekday during the academic back into the kids who live here year, volunteers spend about two hours and become an actual part of the providing individual tutoring and community,” said Katherine Shin, the mentoring at the Thomas N. Lay Park program’s first- through third-grade Community Center, about a 15-minute education coordinator and an Honors walk north of the Arch. junior studying early childhood Sponsored by the Honors Program, education. Katherine Shin Thomas Lay is staffed each semester Spending time as a mentor is Honors junior, early childhood education major, by about 300 undergraduates who strengthening Katherine’s desire to Thomas Lay's first- through third-grade education coordinator work to create an atmosphere that be a teacher—and teaching her more encourages enthusiastic learning about students than she expected.
“It’s really nice to be able to pour back into the kids who live here and become an actual part of the community.”
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UGA HONORS PROGRAM MAGAZINE FALL 2019
