Senior English Major Saul Melo Lira has been working at the Faribault High School since his freshman year of Carleton. Today, he is the student fellow in charge of all CCCE programs there. Here, he walks us through the Faribault work he oversees and his personal experience as a volunteer and CCCE fellow.
Saul oversees three programs under the Faribault umbrella. The first is College Access Starts Today, or CAST. Through CAST, Carleton volunteers help high school students navigate their path to postsecondary education, often helping with the complex and sometimes mysterious application process. CAST activities also include from helping to prepare high schoolers for their college experience, especially given that many are first-generation low income and will face a more challenging transition. CAST provides these students with information and resources that they might not otherwise have had access to and that make a college education more realistic and attainable.
The next major Faribault program offers ACT prep to Faribault High School students. “It’s exactly what it sounds like,” says Saul. Carleton students, lead by Kate Faber, work through ACT preparatory materials every week with high school students. As the ACT has just finished, the volunteers will be spending the remainder of the year doing homework help rather than targeted ACT tutoring.
Finally, a group of volunteers provides general homework help each week at Faribault. For one hour after school, Carls set up tables in the library separated by subject: math, social studies, etc. Volunteers help any students that stop by with whatever work they have that day.
The Faribault program has three fellows, including Saul, and two or three student volunteers each week but is are always looking for more volunteers. Saul stresses that finding new student volunteers would be especially important as many long-term volunteers will graduate this June. “We are currently looking for people to fill our shoes after we are gone” said Saul.
When discussing his personal experience with the Faribault education programs, Saul stresses how fulfilling his volunteer hours have been and how satisfying it is to see the students learn and grow. During the fall term of his Junior year, Saul volunteered at the Faribault Middle School with a boys club where he spent time playing sports with the students. Working at the high school the next year, those same students, now freshmen, remembered Saul. “They asked me if I got a haircut,” he says with a smile. This is Saul’s favorite part of his work in Faribault: developing personal relationships with young students.
If you are interested in getting involved in Faribault or with any of the other CCCE education programs, stop by the office or contact meloliras@carleton.edu.