I didn’t know what I was getting myself into a year
ago when I quit my good paying job and left my childhood house to go to East
Harlem and serve for a year as an AmeriCorps member. My experience has taught me
to get out of my comfort zone, to show God’s love through my work and to
interact with families. It’s taught me that I will not only play a positive
role in the lives of strangers, but also that they will forever change mine.
This past year at LSA Family Health Service agency, I worked on event planning,
early childhood heart start programs, after-school programming or teaching a
media class to adolescent girls. The growth this year of service has enabled me
to do is incomparable to any experience I would have received if I had just
stayed comfortable and stagnant at home.
One of my most memorable relationships was one I
developed with the teen film class, where I taught a video and creative writing
course to a handful of adolescent girls. Even though the class was small, the
girls were extremely receptive to my lessons. The class became more than just a
course to enhance writing and computer skills when the girls started confiding
in me about certain problems they faced. Many of the girls came from families
where the culture does not allow children to voice their opinions, often
suppressing their self-worth to a certain degree. Throughout the class, I
witnessed these girls go from shy and reserved individuals to young women with
confidence and personality.
One particular day, I had brought my camera to class
to teach my students basic camera skills. Each student took a turn acting on
camera and directing. One girl was extremely hesitant to go in front of the
camera and announced that she wouldn’t participate. After directing her friend
and doing some group activities, I noticed as she walked in front of the camera
and began posing like a model. Watching this young woman blossom made me smile.
Being part of AmeriCorps allowed me to act as a tool
for the girls and, in essence, the East Harlem community. Developing bonds with
the families I served help build trusting relationships. Looking back, I feel
blessed to have had this opportunity and am proud to say I am AmeriCorps alum!
Tiffany Tubby, Little Sisters of the Assumption
Family in Mission
AmeriCorps Placement: LSA Family Health Service
Growing up in an abusive household in New York, Tiffany
Tubby never thought she would even graduate high school. In her senior year of
high school, she discovered her passion:
filmmaking. Working her way through college, she graduated in 2010 with a B.A.
from Queens College and worked at Civic Leadership Academy for three years
teaching film enrichment courses and acting as Yearbook Advisor for the first
graduating class. In 2012, she took a leap of faith
and quit her job to move to East Harlem and serve with Little Sisters Family in
Mission. Tiffany feels blessed to be able to continue to stay in East Harlem and
is excited about where God will take her.
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