Reflecting on a Year of Service: Farid Hadj
Every year, AmeriCorps Volunteers dedicate themselves to helping students thrive. Whilemeasurableacademic and emotionaloutcomes are important, some of the most meaningful moments cannot be capturedby data alone.Asyou’llsee, no act of service is too small to make an impact.
In this reflection, first-year AmeriCorps Volunteer Farid Hadj, who served as our AmeriCorps Speaker at this year’s recent graduation celebration on June 11th, shares how one year of service changed both the students he supported and the person he became along the way. Read on for a glimpse into a journey that echoes the experiences of more than 150 AmeriCorps Volunteers who served in school communities across Los Angeles this past academic year.
“My name is Farid Hadj,and I proudly served at Normandie Ave Elementary School as a first-yearStudentSuccessCoach.
Ten months ago, most of us [AmeriCorps volunteers] were essentially strangers, all drawn to City Year Los Angeles by a similar purpose:to dedicate a year of our lives to our students, to grow as leaders,and to become part of something far greater than ourselves.
We arrived at our schools, bound by a shared optimism in the face of tough challenges. We didn’t wear these yellow jackets for glory or publicity, but rather because we believed in the limitless potential of the students we serve.
Ernest Hemingway oncewrote:‘Today is only one dayin all the days that will ever be.But what will happen in all the other days that will ever come can depend on what you do today.’
As AmeriCorpsVolunteers,we have lived the profound truth of those words every single day.Some of those days felt ordinary, and many of them felt incredibly long.But none of them were small.
At City Year, we spend a lot of time tracking data. We track attendance, behavior, and interventions.But there is no tracking for life lessons or earned trust.The data from this yearcan’tcapture the moment a studentlooksus in the eye and connects. Itcan’tmeasure the exact instance that a school became a safer, warmer place because we were walking in the halls.
Our service is rarely about sweeping cinematic victories, but rather about our daily choice to show up. Because of what we did today, a student’s tomorrow is undeniably different, and we, too, are forever changed as leaders.
And now our service year has officially come to a close. The final bells have rung, and we have walked out of those school doors for the last time. But the time we gave belongs to our students forever, just as the lessons they taught belong to us.What happens in all the days that will ever come for them has been forever changed by what we chose to do today.”
PosthisCity Year Los Angelesservice year, Farid will beserving as a District Representative for Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur before pursuing a career in law.We wish Farid all the best as he begins thisnextchapter.Wecan’twait to see thetremendousimpacthe’llcontinue to make in his community.
Every ripple starts with one decisionto serve. If you,or someone you know,is between the ages of 18 and 25 and is ready to make a lasting impactinthe lives of students while growing personally and professionally, consider dedicating a year to service with City Year Los Angeles.Fill outour.
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