Currently with NGS

What? Interviewing our community partner proved to be nothing but enlightening. Prior to the interview, I only dipped my feet into a few of the many support programs that they offered. NGS is not only a place where students receive academic help — it is an entire tight-knit community. Shawn, the person in charge at NGS, mentioned how the NGS is a huge family. The students at NGS have a space for them to be able to freely express themselves without judgement clinging onto their backs. It reaches to the extent of even having a student request the co-founder to officiate their wedding. NGS also serves a safe space for students to get away from home — I recall Shawn telling us about students who come to NGS just because they did not want to go home. The organization proves that they are more than just providing students access to better educational opportunities, they are a group of people who are open-arms to those who need the most care.

One of the stories that truly resonated with this is Shawn’s telling of his most inspiring student story. Sterling, a tutee from roughly 3 years ago, was at NGS preparing for his AP Physics exam in hopes of going the engineering route. The unfortunate part was that his teacher had directly verbalized to his face that he would not amount to much in life besides service work. This condescending attitude proved to have little significance in the end, as Sterling received admission to his top college, Wesleyan, with a full ride. NGS provided him with a supportive space where his skills could flourish which goes to tell how the organization only wishes the best upon their students and sees the extent of their full potential.

NGS offers a variety of services such as the food pantry, hot meal service, counseling, and even pro-bono lawyers from the Canal Alliance for legal services. Coming to NGS only once a week has made me unable to learn about the full circle of support they offer to their students, so this interview informed me of many things. Shawn even mentioned that he was interested in attaining marriage counseling services (but quickly retracted because it seemed like an invasion of privacy) which struck me because I did not know their organization stretched to such lengths for their students. It truly shows how much they care about not only the academic progress of their students, but also about their personal lives and well-being.

So What? During the current crisis, Shawn has restarted the academic program through the usage of Google Hangouts and Zoom. It is important to be flexible during this time because some students at NGS may have some restrictions to technology which can range from having poor wifi or students having to battle with other family members to use the internet. In addition, families are worrying about bigger problems such as whether they would be able to put food on the table for dinner and college students coming home to a not-so-ideal home environment to continue their studies. At these times, education is not their priority. However, NGS persists with their academic programming and students are still showing up regardless of their current conditions. NGS has also given donations and dispersed these to families equitably by priority, such as gas money, as these resources would be trickier for families to access right now. Overall, they are trying to keep things as normal as possible in order to reduce the stress that the students have from their lives being suddenly uprooted.

Critical consciousness is implemented into NGS’s programming by reframing themselves to be more intentional. They give students the tools to understand larger themes and allow them to question challenges and transform them for the better. There are systemic issues that are apparent within present educational systems that disenfranchise certain students of poor economic background from receving the same quality of education as their peers. NGS brings such disparities to light with their students and facilitates the need for change by providing them with tools, like the English language, in order for them to pursue their true potential and bring change for future generations.

Now What? To Shawn, advocacy starts with self-motivation. If you are not willing to work towards it, then nothing is going to happen. NGS’s curriculum exposes the students to certain social themes and ignites the need for advocacy in their thinking. They build critical consciousness by aligning the students’ perspectives on why changes are needed within structural issues and grow from those beliefs. Change happens when students approach a conflict as a team rather than individually. They could all be on different paths due to differing opinions, but still end up heading towards the same goal. However, it all starts from within — the drive is needed in order for change to be created. Once a motive is in place, exposure to different experiences and how these experiences play out within their lives is the next step towards change. Lastly, it is the ability to recognize differences within these experiences and then disrupt them while supporting those who are receiving the backlash from them. Doing is the most important step out of all of this.