“I felt like I was doing something really, really important, in a deeper way than I felt possible.” —Nicole Elmer
Nicole Elmer, Member 2002–2003
I have a little story. It's one that happened right before the Christmas break. It was the last day of tutoring before the Christmas break and I had just taken one of my focus children back to his class. Mrs. P had told me that Mr. M was looking for me, and I kind of raised my eyebrows, wondering if I had forgotten something in his class. Next thing I know, as I am turning around to head down the hallway, here comes Mr. M and Belgica (one of my focus children in his class) and a classmate of hers. They ran after me, and Belgica handed me a handmade Christmas card. On the front was a picture she had drawn of a Christmas tree and some presents underneath it. Inside, Mr. M had included a $20 gift certificate to Book People and had written "Mrs.Glue, Thanks for all you do." And on the opposite page, Belgica had written in Spanish: "Gracias, Nicole, por ayudarme. Te doy un regalo para que te compres libros." I could tell she had worked so hard on it. The smile on her face was huge and she hugged me. I was so touched, and really, with my limited Spanish, did not know how to express it. I just hugged her and kissed her on the top of her head. They returned to class and I returned to the trailer class where I was going to pick up my things. I felt so moved, and so happy. I mean, I just felt like I had received the best present ever! To have that kind of recognition, and even from my focus child, was just so moving. I had to shed a tear on my way back to the AmeriCorps portable. I felt like I was doing something really, really important, in a deeper way than I felt possible. I will always keep this little card with me. I hope to keep it as a reminder to myself that in the future times, in future times of helping others, when I feel frustrated or discouraged, then I can pull out this little beautiful card, and remember that I have and can influence and help people.