A Wave and A Smile

She spots me from across the hallway. Meeting my eye, her face spreads into a grin as she waves hello to me. I eagerly do the same and walk over to her. Although she speaks very little English, we are able to hold a basic conversation, full of smiles that convey our excitement to see each other again.

For the first half of the internship, we have been tutoring students in Alief ISD as part of the Summer Language Institute. In spite of being incredibly smart, their limited understanding of the English language results in poor grades and the need for summer school classes. The girl that has just waved to me was in one of the classes I helped tutor.

On the first day I entered her classroom, her teacher pointed her out to me because she needed a lot of help understanding the material. She was sitting in a group with three other girls, and I asked if I could sit with them. They were doing an assignment for their science class. Within minutes of sitting down with the group of girls, I realized that the understood the material perfectly fine. However, due to the additional challenge of knowing particular English words, they were quickly discouraged.

I confess that other than my knowledge of the the basic “Hello, my name is…,” I do not speak Spanish. I helped the girls when they asked me what things meant and tried to ask them questions about themselves. Even though a lot was lost in translation, or the lack thereof, we were able to get to know one another.

The next time I visited their classroom, and each time after that, I was ushered into the room by these young girls. Their excitement to see me was both flattering and surprising because I did not think I was doing much to help them understand. However, by spending as little as an hour with them each time I came to their classroom, I was able to leave an impression on these incredibly bright young girls.

Now that the program has ended, I am saddened that I won’t be greeted by a giant wave across a crowded hallway anymore. Yet even as I write this blog entry, I am smiling because I am so grateful for the opportunity I was given to get to know these students. You never know how you can make a difference in someone’s life. Although I was there to help them learn English, they ended up teaching me (the clichéd but true reality) that we are all capable of helping others be happier, more confident versions of themselves.