Work experience and volunteering is enriching in so many ways. It allows one to gain valuable skills like communication but also personal ones such as taking initiative. So, I decided to interview my younger sister -Chanchri Gupta- who is 13 years old, and volunteers at a Math/English tuition Centre called ‘First class learning’. She teaches young children and takes on light administrative duties. All in all, volunteering was a great experience for her. 
 

Chanchri started off by telling me how she volunteered as part of her DofE (Duke of Edinburgh) programme and since she took tuition classes there itself. She explained how, ‘It was a great choice because I was able to help out with people I know’, continuing on to say, ‘It’s equally fun and beneficial’. So, I asked what she enjoys best about volunteering: ‘It’s the children definitely! They are so hilarious and adorable’. Aside from professional duties, she explained how she has fun and helps with the kids too. Once even, a kid asked Chanchri to take her to her parents and held her arm. She told me how interacting with younger kids also means she is having to step out of her comfort zone and be more adaptable. 
 

I then asked her what she finds difficult about volunteering, and how she’s dealt with it, to which she answered, ‘It can be tough teaching the kids sometimes as they may not understand it and I have to come up with other ways to explain answers’. Chanchri told me at first it was slightly more difficult but, as she has tried and tested new solutions, it has become easier. Nowadays, she said, ‘I’m able to better teach the kids even when they don’t understand as I’ve tried using different methods like diagrams for example’. This shows how volunteering has challenged her to think more creatively and patiently, which, as she puts it, ‘helps me build such skills for my professional and personal life’. 

 

When I asked Chanchri in what other aspect she finds volunteering valuable, she replied, ‘Educationally- it’s great for consolidating my learning for Math'. She told me how her routine entails teaching for 1-2 hours and doing her tuition work afterwards. Continuing on this, she spoke about how volunteering enables her to retain such knowledge and that, ‘Teaching itself helps me see what small gaps there may be in my learning’. I also asked whether she finds herself struggling with managing her time with volunteering and doing work. She explained how, since both are closely related, it isn’t a great challenge but also helps her attain time management skills that are especially important. She said herself ‘volunteering is really giving me a taste of work life!’ 
 

All in all, volunteering seems to be a great experience in so many ways. Chanchri has been able to demonstrate and gain various professional and interpersonal skills. Alongside this, aside from how enriching it is, helping kids is enjoyable and she has made some great memories. She summarized it well and said ‘volunteering is fun but also equally beneficial and helps me gain new strengths’