Over the course of this semester, I served as a volunteer in NICE’s Citizenship class. Through my experience in the class, I learned more about refugees in our area and the challenges they wrestle with to become U.S. citizens. Each Monday, our classes began with Donna quizzing the refugees on potential test questions such as: What country were you born in? Are you affiliated with a communist party? When were you married? etc. If it was a big class, she would split up the group and have me tutor the newer members with flash cards on American history and government. At the end of class, we would transition to writing. Donna would dictate sentences made up of words used in the writing portion of the test such as, “Thanksgiving is in November,” “The President lives in the White House,” and so on. At this point in the class, Donna would have me walk around and check their work and provide help as needed. I thoroughly enjoyed this part of class. Because Spanish did not come easy to me in college, I was able to relate to the challenges of learning a new language and empathize with them when they would make small spelling and grammar mistakes under pressure.
Throughout my time in the Citizenship class, my leadership skills were challenged and strengthened. The first time I went to volunteer, Donna asked me to help the refugees with their writing. I had to just jump in and act like I knew what I was doing. I started walking around and read over their work, offered help, and gave lots of encouragement. Afterwards, Donna could not have been more appreciative. This was assuring to know I had actually been a help and not a burden. I have been in volunteer situations before where I felt more in the way, but this was not the case in the Citizenship class. Because everyone is at various levels, Donna needs all the help she can get to be able to cater to the refugees’ individual needs. For instance, some of the students had been living in the US for several years and were fluent in English, while others were new to the country and needed a translator to understand much of the class.
I also had to jump in with a group and lead a study session. This was often challenging because the students Donna put me with were typically new to class and still in the process of learning English. I had to work through language barriers and use my best judgment to decide on what study methods to use when they were struggling with a new concept. One of the hardest things was seeing them get discouraged when they didn’t know an answer. I could see the frustration in their eyes and did my best to assure them that they would get it after lots of practice and repetition. I found that it helped to drill a few questions over and over until the student felt more confident with the questions before moving on.
During my time working with the refugees, my eyes were opened to the struggles and frustrations they face with the citizenship test. I saw refugees who had studied hard and knew all the material fail their citizenship test. I learned that much of the refugee’s chances of passing or failing depends on who their test administrator is and what kind of mood they are in. The officers at the USCIS often throw questions at them that the refugees did not study for and were not required to know. This was heartbreaking to see, especially after witnessing how hard these refugees worked and how expensive it is to take the test.
My time with the refugees at NICE was a humbling experience. Many of the students I worked with had experienced trials and suffering in their homelands, and yet, they were so positive and determined to learn. It was incredible to see the way the refugees from various war torn countries helped each other, joked with one another, and became friends through the process. They were also extremely appreciative of the help we offered them, and wanted so badly to get the answers right. If I was able to offer them anything, they provided just as much in return through the way they displayed such positive, eager attitudes in class.