Re’Gen Summer Reflections
As we prepare for the new fall semester, we would like to share some reflections from our students and volunteers on the impact that Re’Gen had on them this past summer. This post features students Ehab Osman and Say Lay Paw, our lead teacher Sean Lee, and our volunteer coordinator Sarah Renahan. We are so lucky to have worked alongside all of you and we wish you the best on your next steps!
Ehab Osman - Student
I am grateful that I had the opportunity to attend this year's Re’Generation summer program. It was a great program for me because I really want to do well in standardized tests and would like to prepare myself for the upcoming school year. I really enjoyed getting to study with my friends without actually being there in-person during this pandemic, and working together toward a similar goal. I signed up for the Re’Gen SAT support last summer. It was very helpful. When I returned to school in the fall, Analytic Geometry was easy for me because of the Re’Gen summer program. That is why I joined again.
My favorite part was the 10:30 am session, in which we had 30 minutes to ask questions from the previous homework or any other SAT related questions. I had questions most of the time, especially in math, and I made sure to show up. Growing up, I did not have the opportunity to go to a state school and learn math. When I came to the United States, I started school at 7th grade and math has always been a problem for me because I did not have all the basics. Thanks to Re’Gen for giving me an opportunity to improve my math skills and more. I really appreciate the Re’Generation team for putting this SAT program together virtually and teaching us in the morning while it is night in Seoul. Your hard work helped me a lot.
Say Lay Paw - Student
My SAT summer experience was great. First, I would like to thank Jongdae for creating this Re’Generation Movement program. I believe that this program has helped many students regarding SAT tips and lessons on reading, writing, and math. I would also like to thank Sean for being our guidance and tutor during this SAT summer program. Even though this summer program was held virtually, it was great to have you as a tutor who taught us through different topics related to SATs. I enjoyed learning in this class and I have met many wonderful classmates. Thank you very much for spending your summer time with us and we really appreciate you.
Sean Lee - Lead Teacher
This summer, I was grateful enough to be given another opportunity to teach students. I had the remarkable chance to see everyone grow so much as their intellectual curiosities and endeavors trespassed the inevitable barriers we had to face under such struggling circumstances under COVID-19. Students would come online before class to ask questions and would also stay behind after class, waiting for their turn to explain what was confusing and difficult to understand. The level of depth and engagement everyone offered during class made me realize that this was not just a simple teaching experience; it was something which allowed me to reflect on my roles as a socially responsible citizen, and to expand my worldview as a contributor not only to my goals in life but to those of others as well.
On a personal level, I’ve had the privilege of working with some of the brightest and ambitious people. It has allowed me to take a look back at the things I’ve done in the past when working with others, and map out my strengths and weaknesses. I learned that it takes an immense amount of practice and patience when working to serve the needs of others. It took patience and effort in that I needed to carefully break down myself as an individual, and piece myself together all over again from a learner’s point of view. Fundamental concepts and rules which I thought could be taught in a split second sometimes took minutes, if not hours throughout the course. I learned not to be satisfied that 99% of the students understood the concepts; rather, it was to make sure that the 1% would move along with us and not be left out.
As was the case, this was something more than an academic experience. This teaching experience was something which gave me the chance to explore the depth of such complexities and finding effective solutions for them. This meant dealing with myself, the people, and students around me, and those alike with different thought processes and social backgrounds. It was all about finding the appropriate channel to connect everyone so that we could move along together. Reflecting upon myself and seeing everyone else improve along this journey has aided my vision to see a better world, and most importantly, to become a part of this priceless movement Re’Gen is creating.
Sarah Renahan - Volunteer Coordinator
I started at Re’Gen as a volunteer tutor, and if you had told me after I first walked into the classroom at Clarkston High School that I would end up as the Volunteer Coordinator for the program, I probably would have laughed. I had no clue how this experience would allow me room to grow and develop my own communication and management skills, or how much it impacts students’ lives. Before this, I had some teaching experience as a Teaching Assistant in Emory University’s Biology Department, but I had never been given this much freedom to teach. As the students and I worked throughout the semester, we learned so much. I figured out how to get students involved in the learning experience, and keep them actively engaged during our sessions. My students learned how to defend their answers confidently during class debates, and to admit sometimes that they were wrong—the other side had swayed them. We also carried the theme that sometimes, the “wrong” answer isn’t completely incorrect, but often the “right” answer is the best. There were moments of frustration, but we ended sessions knowing that there were skills the students had gained. I left that first semester with a much deeper understanding of the United States’ problems in educational inequity.
Thankfully, Re’Generation is striving to fill those gaps. My role transitioned from being one of the front-line teachers to supporting the excellent tutors and students who were in need of extra guidance. We had a lot of fun, learning about each other and reflecting on how to grow as a program and as an individual. By breaking the students into small groups, they were able to receive more personalized study strategies and have their understanding checked—and they also got to have a mentor who was there for them every week, to stay accountable in their educational goals. This also allowed us to better serve a wide variety of students, from those who needed more basic English and Math skill support, to those who needed a more complicated curriculum. I was so looking forward to how the semester would play out, but unfortunately COVID-19 had other plans. This program looks different virtually, but in some ways, this opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for how Re’Gen can expand and grow, increasing access to education and leadership training for the next generation of global diasporas.