Service Event: Big Buckeye Lil’ Buckeye

Service Event:

Big Buckeye Lil’ Buckeye

October 22, 2018 from 4PM to 6PM

       This month I joined a volunteer program here at OSU called Big Buckeye Lil’ Buckeye. BBLB is student group that volunteers with the after school program, Healthy Asian Youth (HAY). This community program facilitates a space for academic and personal growth for anyone of any race, but more commonly the Asian youth. People of Asian descent are typically stereotyped to be wealthy and able to achieve constant success both in society and academia. Because of this stereotype, the Asian Americans that do not have the tools to thrive like this are often overlooked. This is why HAY and BBLB strive to provide educational, cultural, and emotional support for the Asian youth through the after school volunteering program. The volunteers and mentors of BBLB serve as role models that provide a supportive and empowering network for the kids to rely on. In addition to this, BBLB serves to educate the Asian youth in their cultures. Through monthly visits on campus, BBLB and HAY work together to create interactive programs that not only educate the kids on different Asian cultures, but also familiarize them with higher education opportunities at OSU. The at-risk Asian youth are largely ignored by society because many stereotype Asians as people who do not need help, when in reality that is not the case at all. It is important to make these kids feel valued and provide them with all the tools they need to be the best they can be.

      My first volunteering experience was on Monday, October 22 and I went to the Asian American Community Services building in Upper Arlington with a couple of other volunteers. The other girls that I was with had already been regularly volunteering on Mondays, so the kids already knew and loved them. It was heartwarming to see how happy the kids were to see BBLB volunteers and it was obvious that the girls had already made an impact on their lives. I had no idea what to expect, but I was excited to meet with the kids and learn more about them. All of the kids were fairly young and all had unique personalities. Even though I only spent two hours with them, I still feel like I learned a lot about each one just by the way they interacted with me and the other kids. Since I was a complete stranger to them, they kind of ignored me but I did make conversation with all of them and helped them with whatever homework they struggled with.

       About an hour in, some special guests from COSI arrived and demonstrated DIY science experiments with the kids showing concepts like potential energy, kinetic energy, friction, and states of matter. I wasn’t aware that this would happen, but apparently COSI comes in every Monday to show new experiments that teach the kids a variety of science concepts! I thought this was super interesting because it brings in a certain interactive and visual element of teaching that we as volunteers can’t really provide. Once COSI’s demonstration ended, we had to go back to campus and that is what concluded my first volunteering session. I truly enjoyed volunteering with the kids and I hope I can stop by at least on Mondays so I can build a stronger relationship with them.

       I joined BBLB because I wanted to get more involved in Ohio State student organizations and I wanted to find something that I could connect to my Asian culture and heritage. As a kid, I never really had a role model to help me understand my Asian background and teach me how to maintain my Asian identity while living in America. Although my mom tried to keep Japanese culture present in our house, it became increasingly difficult to find a balance between this and Western culture. I believe having a role model would have created a connection between myself and my Asian culture and that is what I want to build for these kids as a volunteer in this program. I hope to not only help them with their academic struggles, but I want to encourage the kids to embrace their cultural heritage and empower them in feeling confident in who they are. In addition to this, I hope that this program helps empower me in my Asian heritage. I would like to feel even more connected to my culture as well as Asian cultures other than my own. I think this first experience went very well and I am looking forward to volunteering more and possibly becoming a mentor in the future!