Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.

In my last post, I told you (whoever you are) that I was going to be working for AmeriCorps at UW-Marathon County. Well, I've been at it for about two months now, and I'm enjoying it immensely. If you want to be technical about it, I work for the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service (WIPPS), on the UW-Marathon County campus, which I was placed at through AmeriCorps. Whew, that's a mouthful. (typeful?) Whatever. Disclaimer: please leave the Rihanna jokes out. Yes, WIPPS and chains excite my co-workers and I. Moving on. Without boring you (hopefully), I'm going to attempt to tell you what we do at WIPPS. In a nutshell, WIPPS combines student service, scholarly research, and public dialogue to address numerous public issues. In practicality, that means we host a variety of events (ranging from a conference on how Marathon County can better compete in the global economy, to a discussion on the current state of American politics with Dave Obey and Tom Petri). We also have a Student Civic Leadership Program that involves college students, a high school leadership program, and various other programs/events/projects. We partner with many other organizations, including the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), the campus,and the Kettering Foundation.

As I said in my last post, my project at WIPPS specifically relates to college access. With the DPI, I am coordinating a mentoring program in five schools in the Wausau area, including high schools and middle schools. Most of my time is spent facilitating study halls, chaperoning field trips, programming, and leading activities with my students. Our program focuses on college access - for example, those practical skills and knowledge one must have to get to college (financial aid, how to apply, etc). However, we also believe that students need to know how to lead effectively, have good personal health habits, and understand how to succeed academically. A second part of my job is to make service learning a regular part of student life on the UW-Marathon County campus. Therefore, I am specifically in charge of recruitment and scheduling our college mentors in the various schools. I'm also involved in other projects, such as mentoring for the high school leadership program, college days on campus, and organizing service opportunities on national days of service, like Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Though I absolutely love what I do, the title in of this post sums up my feelings regarding my mentoring/college access project. One of my co-workers and I constantly feel as though we don't do enough - specifically that we aren't making enough of an impact on our students, their schools, and our community. Everyone is constantly asking for more, and because there are only three of us on this project, we have to say "no" sometimes. And that's frustrating. So I'm trying to keep in mind that I am only one person, and that what I do and say will have an impact on my students and my mentors, regardless of whether or not I have the opportunity to see it.