Beginning from the Past

Between people that want to help and those that need help is a line of accessibility. It’s not like volunteers don’t know that they’re needed, it’s that they don’t know the logistics of who to contact and where to go from there, which is significantly more difficult with all of the results from a simple Google search.

I probably googled ‘high school ESOL/ESL volunteer opportunities’ multiple times a day in the past few weeks, with all sorts of results pulling up. About 30 emails, various phone calls, and several frustrations later, I got transferred between organizations to eventually schedule interviews and begin the process to do what I always wanted to do: serve.

Seekers aren’t often credited for their efforts; only those actively 'doing' are recognized. “But there’s so much out there!” you might say— the world is at everyone’s fingertips. The thing is, it’s much harder to connect with someone online that you don’t know than it is a connection you've already established beforehand. It was only because I volunteered at a St. Louis County Library branch nearby that I could email Rachel (who oversaw various volunteering and teens/children's programs at the Thornhill branch) and begin holding conversation circles for kids and families that wanted to practice speaking English.

Long processes and strict age requirements taught me one thing in particular: serving is a journey, not a race. Even as it it presses you with demands and expectations, you learn to bridge gaps and create lasting connections within your community, leading you to expand your perspective.

Libraries have become so much more than a place to study or get lost in different, crafted realities— they’ve become hubs of connection for people to get immersed into something much larger than themselves. I grew up in ESOL programs for a few years when my family first immigrated from the Philippines, but I always thought of myself like every other American, every other person, seeking to figure out the world. Even as I’m getting ready to go through interviews and introductions next week for other organizations to tutor English, I never thought that this is how I would begin.