By first-year coach Moses Ogiemwanye
There are many things I would love to do. That is why from a young age, I have always tried to prepare myself to take action when the time presents itself. But the funny thing about that is opportunities never come at a time when you are well prepared. This usually leads to you overcoming extra hurdles to meet the requirements of that opportunity. Keeping this thought in mind was one of the driving reasons I decided to take part in serving with College Possible. I realized that maybe I can make a change; maybe I can help someone else who is currently preparing for an unexpected opportunity. If I can help a student prepare for the challenges that may arise while earning a college degree, then I believe that would be enough.
During these past few months of my term of service, there have been times I question whether the feelings I had felt in the beginning of this position were genuine. The usual student call logging and tracking could be a little repetitive and mundane. But in learning these more mundane parts of my role, I realized about myself and how I work. I realized that my appetite for learning new things sometimes tends to be met with a distain for repetition. With my routine and busy schedule involving multiple jobs and an internship, the lack of responses from students sometimes felt disheartening. I was worried the lack of student response meant I was falling short on my duties to connect with College Possible students.
In my act to question my process and role within College Possible, one student made me realize that sometimes even the small and mundane things make a difference. Sometimes things that don’t seem to make much of an impact from your perspective, could make a huge impact on someone else. After sharing my thought process of writing a resume with student Sena, I did not think my process was anything impactful or anything that invoked change for someone else. Sena had shattered that notion entirely when she wrote me a letter of gratitude thanking me for my contributions to her resume. She stated that it was great help and that because of my assistance, she has been able to write her own resume and apply for internships. Sena is currently in the interview process for one of the internships she applied to.
The feeling of receiving such a letter left me a little puzzled. For me, I did not believe that my simple suggestion would be that impactful. Overall, it made me see the act of serving with College Possible in a different light. For me, the honor of watching students progress through life is an experience that shouldn’t be taken for granted. In the end, I want to say thank you to Sena for helping me realize this truth.
Learn more about serving with College Possible. You could be a critical support system and coach to a student like Sena throughout their college journey.
