In addition to their academic studies, job preparation and life skill building, students in Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES Transition Program at Roberts Wesleyan College are learning the importance of giving back. After recent discussions around how individuals can put good into the world, the six students in teacher Amanda Cupido’s class found their own unique way to contribute to their college community. The Transition Program is located on the Roberts Wesleyan campus, and several of the students also participate with the Bridge to Earning, Learning and Living (BELL) Program. All feel deeply connected to their college community. Their willingness to contribute was shared with Roberts Wesleyan Assistant Facilities Director Daniel Kilker, who was thrilled with the idea and happy for the help.
“There were areas of the campus grounds covered with leaves and large branches that had blown down during the winter,” said School Psychologist Gretchen Schober. “The grass couldn’t be mowed without collecting all the debris first. The students recognized that this was something they could do together to make a real difference.”
The students’ first effort in mid-April was snowed out, but they persevered. On April 29, the determined crew, aided by Schober, PE teacher Eric Stevenson and classroom aide Cindy Confer, spent about an hour and a half raking and clearing the grounds, moving more than three large cartfuls of leaves and brush out of the area.
The group is working with Kilker to find more ways to help out through the end of this school year. “The consensus from the students was that they felt really proud,” said Schober. “They felt great about themselves and about their accomplishment. They said, ‘We did something really good!’“
