YSOP Experience

I can honestly say that this experience... I will never forget. I really liked the fact that YSOP was able to give volunteers a hands- on experience. I truly enjoyed visiting the Kipp School and seeing for myself, how motivated the students were about getting an education. Their enthusiasm made me think about how much I take my education for granted. That's just one of the many experiences I enjoyed. I can't begin to describe my thoughts about the YSOP dinner. At first, I was a "waiter" and went around pouring drinks for people. One man asked for coffee, and while getting the coffee, I bumped into Stephen. Basically, our meeting was all through chance. lol. A good type of chance. The first thing he said to me was: "Do you know what a meniscus is? Bet you don't know the physics behind it." That made us connect right off the bat. (A meniscus is that convex surface a liquid makes in a graduated cylinder, pipet, etc). It wasn't too long ago that I went from a science major to an advertising major. Basically, it was one of those personal decisions that makes you think a lot at night. At dinner, he had such a charming personality that I didn't even get to finish my dinner because of how much I was laughing. At one point, he exclaimed, "The world is my home." That phrase stuck on my mind for the rest of that night. I'm quite sad that our time together was cut short that night because of curfew. I would've stayed longer if permitted the time. I'm so happy I signed up for this experience. Our ASB team is composed up of individuals who truly care. I feel that these individuals are doing more than volunteering with their hands, they're volunteering with their hearts.

Linda Nguyen