Undergrad student Aneesa Hashimi participates in unique virtual after-school program

Aneesa Hashimi, a second year Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) student in the Faculty of Education, has always had a passion for working with children. 

“I started working with children when I was still a child myself,” says Hashimi. “I was still in elementary school, and I remember jumping at any chance to help monitor the younger classes at lunch time.”

Therefore, when the Racing Readers program came to Aneesa's attention at the end of April 2020, she naturally jumped at the opportunity. Racing Readers is an after-school program that focuses on developing the social and physical wellbeing of students in grades 2-5, while simultaneously developing educational skills such as literacy. 

What stood out most to Aneesa and encouraged her to get involved was the fact that the program had moved online. "I really appreciated that the program was being tailored in order to continue supporting students during the COVID-19 pandemic," says Hashimi. "This was something that motivated me to get involved because while all of the other programs I was involved in were closed due to the pandemic the Racing Readers program presented me with the opportunity to continue working with children." 

As a volunteer, Aneesa participated in the planning and execution of weekly volunteer sessions, alternating between engaging and facilitating sessions for students. These sessions would revolve around a central theme ('nature') or word of the day ('heroes') and included discussions, journal writing, physical activities, and games and "read-alouds". 

"One of the activities which I really enjoyed creating for the students was a nature scavenger hunt. This activity involved having students explore around their houses or at a local park and find items in nature that were different colors. The students would place or draw these items around a color wheel and choose a few to personify by giving the item a name and saying one fact about it (e.g. a leaf who likes to dance)."

The most rewarding part of the volunteer experience was the opportunity to have regular discussions with students. "It was so enjoyable to just talk with the students and hear about things such as the highlights of their week, a new toy that they got, what they were doing in school, etc. Their faces would light up when they had the chance to share. It always made me really happy to see." 

The experience of volunteering for Racing Readers was a valuable and rewarding one for Aneesa, allowing her to reflect on the importance of community, collaboration, and gain new skills and knowledge — learning firsthand how to address the unique challenges of working with students virtually.

While the pandemic brings a lot of unknowns and uncertainties, one important thing to consider is using this time to give back, explore and try new things.