Interviewers: Nadaa Ali and Megan Powell
Interviewee: “Leah”
Location: PBHA
Date: February 20, 2015
3:30pm-4:30 pm
Field Notes: It was a cold day in the Boston winter, approximately 10-15 degrees
Fahrenheit. Megan and I stopped for coffee in the Gutman Library before walking over to
PBHA. During the walk, we talked about the large icicles hanging from the roofs of the
buildings and how they could kill unknowing pedestrians. Once there, we took off our
layers coats and enjoyed coffee while we waited for Leah in the foyer. Leah was about 15
minutes late, but walked directly to us and said “are you them?” We all laughed and said
yes. We then moved to the large main conference room of PBHA. It seemed like it was
being used for interviews but no one else was in there. Leah got comfortable on the sofa
and asked if she could take off her boots because she had a blister. We reassured her that
it was okay, and she got comfortable on the sofa in her socks. Megan and I sat in chairs
on either side of her, diagonally facing her. We closed the two large doors to the room
and began the interview. Leah joked that she could lay on the couch and this could be like
a therapy session.
Listening Notes:
Leah’s major and pre-Harvard background
Leah is a sophomore in Adams house with an English major. She just recently declared
but was undecided for a while because she wanted to do social studies but thought it
wasn’t specific enough. She is originally from New England, and she is quite used to
snow storms and cold weather.
Leah said she was “smart in high school” and “wanted to go ivy league.” She used to do
cross country and track and wanted to go to a college where she could run. She says this
is silly now because she just quit the track team. However, she really liked the Penn
Team but applied to Harvard early because Penn had two essays on their early application
and it was binding. Harvard did not have essays and it was not binding. She also says she
is close to family, so didn’t know why she would not go to Harvard.
Stressful Pre-STRIDE Service Experience
She initially joined the Summer Urban Program and worked at Boston Refugee Youth
Enrichment. As a senior counselor, she had a classroom of 10 children. She taught them
in the morning and went on field trips in the afternoon. She was paid $3600 and said she
was maybe interested in teaching so decided to do the program. But, she said, “it was a
lot. 14 hours a day, really stressful, really taking. Not what I anticipated at all.” There
were conflicts and “fights” between the student leadership and the staff. People were
worn out and snapping at each other. “You are just miserable.” After it ended, she said, “I
loved my kids” but she did not want to do BRYE again because it was too stressful.
Personally Recruited to STRIDE
However, Kate (staff at PBHA) met Leah and told her she could be a director at BRYE if
she joined STRIDE. Leah said it was $2000, and therefore, she decided to join STRIDE.
She first heard about STRIDE from Kate. She knew “it was a great thing that paid you for
volunteer work.” She knew as a director she would have control of the program, and she
liked that and decided to join.
She then revealed that she applied to STRIDE 4 months past the deadline and was
accepted because there were open spots. She does not know anyone who was denied
entrance to STRIDE, so she “wants to call BS on their calculators.” The only people who
know about STRIDE are those who did summer PBHA volunteer work. 90% of the
campus does not know about STRIDE.
Unaware of the components of STRIDE
Leah really loved the kids and said she would have done the service anyway at BRYE;
however, she decided to do STRIDE because she thought it was just a grant to do service
work and was not aware of the other components of STRIDE.
She now knows that there are team-building seminars, leadership classes, reform groups,
book grants, and end of year bonuses – but doesn’t know much about each component.
She also send each student has a “mentor / therapist.” But she concludes that “there is so
much I don’t know about it.”
She is not a 100% aware of everything because her name was spelled wrong on the email
list. She thought she was getting paid for just doing service and didn’t realize she had to
attend other events (this would be identifying). Because she was mistakenly double
funded for her summer service, her participation in STRIDE will pay back the money she
owes (identifying information).
We asked about themes for the sessions as Kate and Jesse had mentioned “Ferguson.”
However, Leah said she doesn’t know if it was a theme since she didn’t attend many
STRIDE events. She said she could see how that could be powerful but she doesn’t know
about it.
STRIDE events are not high yield
“I went to one thing. It was really long and in the quad.” STRIDE scholars played with
pipe cleaners while they learned how to be a leader. She said her “big take away” was
that pipe cleaners were fidgets, and you learn more while distracted with fidgets. The
topic of the meeting was “how to lead a group” and she says she did learn something
from it.
She knows these events are not optional, but doesn’t feel obligated to go. The service is
already a huge time commitment and along with doing other activities on campus. She
feels like STRIDE events are “a little extra that are not necessary.” Her co-director at
BRYE felt similarly. She said many of the STRIDE participants find it (events, team
meetings, etc..) stressful. Leah says, “if you are not in the right mind frame, you cannot
absorb it.” She talks about papers being due but having to sit in long seminars in STRIDE
where you cannot focus. In the end, she concludes that a lot of people decide not to go to
STRIDE events, even though they are not optional.
“STRIDE is pushing a back agenda on people who are just in it to get $2000 for their
service work so they do not have to do a work study…It does have good intentions but a
lot of it like the all day long trainings and reflections to me just feel like BS that you have
to sit through.”
STRIDE needs to be more “tangible”
Leah believes to make STRIDE more meaningful they would have to make their events
shorter, not full day events like they currently organize. She also says they say, “we have
food but their food sucks.” They would have to “focus on something tangible, like on the
Ferguson thing.” They also often bring speakers from outside to lecture on topics.
However, these lecturers are professional trainers and she feels like “why should I trust
this person about this topic.” They do not actually do the work daily that they teach
about. She feels like it is a “waste of time” to listen to them.
Kids and programming make STRIDE “worth it”
“When actual kids are involved, it makes sense that you are actually doing something.”
“She says the best moments are when you realize you put so much agony into the
program and its running.” She likes seeing the results of her effort as the director.
Resistance to Change
Leah found that there is a lot of resistance from PBHA to change components of their
service programs. In BRYE, the volunteers pick and drop the children to the program.
Many children are from immigrant families and historically did not have access to
transportation, which is why BRYE offered free transportation. However, Leah said this
is quite time consuming and makes the time commitment 5.5 hours in the afternoon and
evenings. She spoke to parents of children who said they could pick/drop their children,
and this would decrease the volunteer time commitment to 3 hours which would be more
manageable. Instead of ending at 7pm, they could end at 5pm. She says you are not
getting enough out of BRYE as a volunteer that its worth the stress and anxiety. She did
not feel like rides improved the quality of care you provide the kids.
When she spoke to PBHA leadership about making a change in transportation, she was
told that BRYE always does transportation, but she asks why do they do that? There is a
resistance not to change. She also says that past directors of BRYE had to take gap
semesters because of the stress from BRYE. Because the PBHA leadership would not
make changes to the transportation, the BRYE student directors had trouble recruiting
volunteers and had to cut back the days they offer the program. PBHA staff leadership
was unhappy with the reduction in days; they want to keep the program big. However,
she says that we don’t have enough volunteers to provide quality care to children. “It’s all
about tradition.”
“The pressure comes from having a camp that was once amazing with all these traditions.
The pressure is to maintain what it was even if it does not work anymore.” The pressure
comes from PBHA staff. There is a particular staff member that is in charge of BRYE
who “pushes back on changing the program” even if it would “make a positive program.”
He will not accept that the program is failing. Leah’s co-director is now taking a semester
off from school because he fell behind in schoolwork.
Not a STRIDE community
Most STRIDE scholars know each other from SUP previously but do not socialize much
within or outside of STRIDE. She does not go to many STRIDE events and does not see
the other participants often (may be identifying). However, she has upcoming meetings
for the reform group and thinks she will see them more.
Overall, she does not think there is a “social” component to stride or socializing that
occurs between the scholars. Her non-stride friends know very little about STRIDE. They
just know that she gets paid to do volunteer work.
Leah thinks a lot about programming and BRYE but not STRIDE. It is not a big part of
her community or experience. She says STRIDE is not an identity on campus; it does not
affect her relationship with others on campus. She does not identify with PBHA but she
does identify in BRYE. She does not feel invested in STRIDE, and says 90% of the
campus does not know what STRIDE is. It is not well advertised.
Afraid of PBHA leadership
Leah was telling us that she doesn’t talk about STRIDE much to her non-STRIDE
friends. She will occasionally text them to complain about the long 5 minute walk to
PBHA. She also shared that she will sometimes tell them that she is “afraid of Jesse” and
they will send her sad emojis to sympathize.
Leaving STRIDE
Leah said she wants to definitely participate in STRIDE again if she can be a director.
The motivation to participate in STRIDE again is monetary. The second reason is Kate,
who she thinks is a great mentor and listener. She would stay in STRIDE to “maintain a
relationship with Kate.”
Mentors: love / hate relationship
She would leave STRIDE if Kate left. She wouldn’t “stick around STRIDE…I guess I’m
afraid of a lot more negative feedback from Jesse.” She says she gets a lot of that because
she should have been doing more for STRIDE in the fall, and doesn’t know if she’s just
paranoid. She also says if the reform group feels like another hoop to jump through for
the grant (like the other STRIDE events) then she wouldn’t want to do it again. She
doesn’t think it is worth the time.
Next steps
STRIDE gives you an opportunity to learn about nonprofit work and education studies, so
it may impact her future decision. She met with Kate to discuss which classes to register
in as well as summer service work. She thinks Kate is here to help figure out next steps
but doesn’t feel like she hasn’t really taken advantage of it.
It seems expected that you devote yourself to PBHA throughout college and possibly
afterwards. However, Kate makes it seem like its okay to do other things too and you
don’t have to only do PBHA.