So instead of a real update about what I'm doing here is an article I wrote for the Border Servant Corps newsletter. I hope you like it and if you are interested in receiving a copy of the newsletter let me know!!
Hi! My name is Megan Hentges and I'm from Toledo, Ohio. I went to Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio and majored in music education. I spent a lot of time last year trying to figure out what I wanted to do after college. I knew that I was not interested in getting a teaching job and I really wanted to work for a volunteer organization. I heard about Border Servant Corps when Ryan came to Wittenberg. After listening to him talk about the organization I knew that it was exactly what I was looking for. The four tenets are very important to me and I love being able to work directly with people. It is also nice to be in a different part of the country. I have only ever lived in Ohio and so far I am really enjoying the different landscape and weather. I am so excited to be here and I can't wait to see what is in store for the year!
I am currently working as the assistant teacher in the 1 year old room at Jardin de los Ninos in Las Cruces and I love it! Jardin de los Ninos is a daycare center for homeless and near-homeless children serving kids from a few months old through elementary school. Jardin has an after-school program for school aged children too, where they help with homework and have other planned activities. It has been great working with children. When I first started I was able to work in different rooms which was a great opportunity to meet all of the children that are enrolled. As I was getting ready to start working I was not sure what to expect. The label of homeless and near-homeless makes it sound like it will be different from other daycare centers but that is not the case. If anything, these children are more self-reliant than others I have experienced which goes to show that kids are kids no matter their situation or their location. If someone came to visit they would have no idea that we serve homeless children. Jardin acts not just as a care center but also works with the parents, providing parenting classes every week and helping them find housing or other services.
I know that I am going to learn a lot this year. Working at Jardin I am learning about the struggles that go along with homelessness but also about some of the different services available for families that are homeless. It is also great living with people who share many of my values but who are working for different organizations and learning about those organizations as well. Being in a bilingual setting at Jardin has been a great to learn more Spanish words and phrases and I am hoping that by the end of this year I will be able to speak Spanish confidently. I really wanted to take some time this year to figure out what I am really interested in doing with my life. I loved being a music education major but I can not really see myself teaching in a traditional school setting. I think that this year is going to provide me with a great opportunity to see what other places I might be able to use my degree. At Jardin there will hopefully be opportunities to teach music and incorporate it in the classrooms. I know that there is a lot in store for me this year and I am looking forward to learning as much as I can from work, other members of the BSC community, the people that I work with, and other experiences that I will have this year serving as a member of BSC.
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