Taylor Olson is a Freshman Communications Major and Childhood Studies Minor at Saint Joseph’s University. During her early arrival program, AIM, at SJU, she worked at Samuel Gompers Elementary School, located right behind SJU’s campus. There, she learned about what a community school is and got to know many of the students and faculty. Their group planted a garden. From this experience, Taylor decided to sign up for Service Learning through the Faith Justice Program, as well as a Childhood Studies Minor. Taylor regularly works recess at Gompers. She loves working with the younger kids at Gompers and enjoys being able to have a positive impact on their lives, whether it’s through a big project like building a garden or smaller interactions where she gets to have fun with the kids at recess. Taylor wanted to get outside of her comfort zone when she arrived at SJU, and she attests to the fact that there is no better way to do that than signing up for an early arrival program such as AIM and doing service work. She met a lot of great new people and it was a great way for her to fully immerse herself in the SJU community. She was a bit hesitant to leave home early to do such a hands-on program but had an amazing experience, finding new friends, making professional connections, and even discovering new passions: service and working with elementary school children. Taylor’s experience with service set her up on the track that she is on now at SJU; she is a Childhood Studies minor and would like to be an aid one day. Taylor does not want to work all the way to certification for being a teacher, but she definitely wants to continue working with children and hopes to combine that with more service work in the future.
