This weekend I went to the Jelly Belly Factory in Pleasant Prairie, Wisc.
You're probably wondering why I would spend my Saturday two hours away sampling 50 different flavors of bean-shaped processed sugar, so allow me to explain.
I work at Oakton Elementary School off the South Blvd. El stop for the Youth Organizations Umbrella, Inc., an Evanston subsidiary of the America Reads program. According to its Web site, Y.O.U. is "a social service agency that provides guidance, support and advocacy for Evanston youth." Saturday's excursion to jelly bean Mecca was a Y.O.U. field trip for the Oakton third-, fourth- and fifth-graders who attend the after-school program.
When I first interviewed with my site coordinator for the job, she was serious about me committing to the job because in the past work-study students have grown weary of the children and quit. Many of the Oakton kids come from broken homes and have experienced hardships that most kids their age don't have to worry about. As a result, many of them have major behavioral issues - they often fight, curse, refuse to work and lash out at authority figures. One time a fourth-grader got mad at me and tried to spear me with the legs of a chair.
But then days like Saturday at the Jelly Belly Factory remind me that they are just kids. They giggle when they give me a jelly bean saying it's popcorn-flavored, and then laugh hysterically when my face contorts in disgust as I realize the flavor is really rotten egg. The kids love spending time with us counselors, and likewise, most of the time it is an absolute joy to be with them. As cliché as it sounds, there really is something about a child's laughter that makes you feel good inside.
As college students, we are at a point in our lives when it is very easy to think only about ourselves. As we prepare for our future careers, this is the one time in our lives when we don't have to care about anybody else.
But if we approach our college years with this me-first attitude, we pass up a great opportunity to impact the lives of underprivileged children in our own city. While we complain about midterms, a 9-year-old on the south side of Evanston is wondering why her mother forgot to pick her up from school again. A third-grader gets suspended for punching a classmate because his father taught him to never back down from a fight. For a lot of the kids, their only positive influences are the college students they spend their afternoons with at Y.O.U.
These children need role models, and there is no time better than college to be that big brother or big sister for a kid in need. Volunteer at the McGaw YMCA, or a Boys and Girls club in Chicago. Or do what I and a number of other Northwestern and Loyola students do and get a part-time job with Y.O.U. Evanston. The kids won't always have Wonka-esque joy at the sight of jelly beans, but the quality time they spend with college students may inspire them to achieve happiness by pursuing their dreams and give them Golden Tickets to a brighter future.
Medill sophomore Nick Weldon can be reached at n-weldon@northwestern.edu.
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