May 26, 2018
Volunteers from Whitfield School and John Burroughs School
This spring, two very special visitors have been around City Academy. You may find on the field playing kickball, in the classroom assisting our students, or in the library helping pack up our books for renovations to our current facility.
Josh (John Burroughs School ’18) and Jordan (Whitfield School ’18) are high school seniors at John Burroughs School and Whitfield School. As a capstone project to their high school experiences, they each followed their passion to connect with students by selecting City Academy as their internship site.
Both John Burroughs and Whitfield offer a program for 12th-grade students to become more involved in the community. In the last month of school, students are dispersed around St. Louis, engaging in various internships for 30 hours per week. This gives students the opportunity to have an immersive experience and learn about their areas of strength as they head into their freshman year of college.
Josh and Jordan both wanted to get a glimpse of how a teacher runs the classroom on a daily basis. They were eager to impact students lives and become positive role models.
This opportunity allowed them to become involved in all aspects of the school, even planning and teaching a lesson of their own! Josh taught a lesson on subtracting fractions, and Jordan taught a lesson on probability in math class. They each collaborated with the teacher to plan for how to present and cover the information to the students.
Favorite Moments
As their time at City Academy wrapped up, Josh and Jordan shared their favorite moment reflecting back on the past few weeks.
“My favorite moment was probably on the first day here,” recalls Jordan. “I got here in the morning and noticed a student who was upset in the library. I was nervous but after we talked together for a bit, he was smiling. It went much better than I expected, and it was the moment I knew I belonged at City Academy. I love to help students when they’re having trouble and celebrate them when they’re happy. I didn’t realize how much I would love working with kids.”
For Josh, there are many favorite memories! “There are too many to count,” explains Josh. “But one of my favorite moments during my time here was helping the kids work together on the field at recess. Having the opportunity to watch the students smile and grow has been amazing. Although I may not become a teacher, I have loved developing relationships and connections with young students.”
They both have learned a great deal about themselves and their love for engaging with students. They also have discovered how much dedication and patience it takes from teachers!
After graduation, Jordan will be headed to North Carolina A&T to pursue a degree in biomedical or chemical engineering. Jordan will attend Washington University in St. Louis and is interested in pursuing physical therapy.
The students and teachers will greatly miss having Josh and Jordan around, but we wish them the best in their future endeavors!