A Life-Changing Gap Year
Greta’s 24-25 Service Year
Greta Fenn knew she wanted to do a gap year after graduating high school. What she didn't know was that it would be a year that changed her life for the better.
Greta's cousin had served with an AmeriCorps program, and they changed their career path based on their year of service. That inspired Greta to see if there was an AmeriCorps program that would be a good fit for her.
She searched the AmeriCorps platform and found the Notre Dame Mission Volunteers. "I really liked the sisters," Greta said. (We do, too!)
Greta served as an NDMV member at St. Ann's Center for Children, Youth, and Families in Hyattsville, Maryland. She supported another teacher with a group of three and four-year-olds in the children's center.
Greta is interested in education, so the service site was a perfect fit. Greta smiled and said, "Instead of sitting at desks, they sit on the carpet, and we sing a song about it." She loved the opportunities to teach in an out-of-the-box setting.
"I love the whimsy of the kids," Greta said.
"They're so playful. It reminds me to slow down. It's easy to get stressed or overwhelmed, especially in the classroom. Whenever I get a chance to sit down with the kids, they're playing, they're telling stories, they have this joy that I love to sit with and engage with".
Greta took advantage of her stressful moments to practice and exercise patience. Thinking about the joy in her students was a way to ground her and give her perspective during chaotic moments. "[The joy] reminds me to take a step back. Within the classroom, it's easy to get lost in everything that's going wrong or not going as expected. It's easy to feel like every single thing is a crisis," Greta expressed. Her classroom taught her the importance of stepping back and moving forward creatively and patiently.
She defined patience as the ability to keep trying and keep going. Greta's year of service taught her that patience is not a finite resource with kids or adults. She believes she is leaving her service year with more patience than before because she had many opportunities to practice.
Greta described days when she felt she would go from conflict to conflict and tears. She learned not to lose sight of the bigger picture. "The joy of the kids is the bigger picture–the play and their love for each other. It's inspiring to see that in them at such a young age," Greta explained.
There were moments she would tell herself, "Five minutes from now, this child will be playing again or loving another classmate."
As she developed patience with others, she learned to be patient with herself. Throughout her service year, Greta learned to embrace help. "You can't do everything," she said. At the start of Greta's service year, she agreed to more tasks than she could handle, ultimately making her less effective. Over time, she learned that asking for help set her up to serve in a greater capacity.
Another lesson from her service year was the importance of being a helping hand. There were moments when her time in the classroom was focused on sweeping and cleaning tables. Greta could see that these "small" tasks gave her co-teachers more time to be with the kids. She learned that being an extra set of hands is not small.
Greta advises future NDMV members that "you will learn things about yourself and teach yourself skills and lessons that you didn't know you needed to learn. You'll come out a different person in a good way".
She can say that because her year of service personally changed her. Greta's service year and her time spent with students opened her heart to the possibility of becoming a mom one day, something she had not believed before.
The joy in the kids helped her find joy and unlocked some dreams in Greta's heart. "I feel way more equipped to be a parent," Greta expressed. "It feels a lot less intimidating. That's changed since working with kids; that could be in the cards".
Greta's next steps are still unfolding, but it is certain that her year of service has positively transformed her life.
