When you serve with City Year New Hampshire every day is a chance to make a difference. No two days will be exactly alike, but here is an example of what a typical day is like for two of our corps members.
Jawad Ashour
Nashua Team |  Sandra Carbajal
Seabrook Team |
Jawad Ashour
My Typical Day
7:15 Meet up with corps members at Timberland Headquarters for Unity Rally. Unity rally consists of readiness checks and daily announcements.
7:25 Travel with teammates to Nashua. Perform morning physical training in public place in community to raise awareness.
8:30 Arrive at Phoenix Program Middle school in Nashua. Team greets students as they enter school to encourage community, good work and strong attendance among students.
9:40 Work with seven 9th graders to solve word problems involving ratios and proportions in math class.
10:35 Assisted students in understanding the meaning of the Declaration of Independence.
11:30 Began construction on marble slide competition for science class.
12:25 Lunch with students
1:00 Assist students with reading comprehension and journal writing.
2:30 Arrive at Elm St Middle School after school program
2:45 Assist students with any incomplete homework assignments in Homework Help station
3:45 Spend time with students in planned activity of their choosing such as sports, exercise, music, puzzles, etc.
4:45 Depart from Nashua back toward Timberland Headquarters.
5:35 Reflect on day with team and discuss what is expected for next day.
5:50 I head home to my beach house in Hampton which I share with 5 other corps members to end the day.
I am Jawad Ashour. I’m 23 years old, from Houston, Texas and just graduated with a degree in Biology from The University of Texas in Austin. I will begin with a beautiful quote: "Eureka." This simple and single word, said by Archimedes, encompasses my feelings about a lot of things in life. Like Archimedes, I am constantly trying to discover new things, and if I can have one Eureka moment each day, I feel fulfilled. These new discoveries may involve food, music, joy, suffering, emotions, reason, awareness, or anything else involving the human condition.
One life changing Eureka I had was realizing how privileged I am. For me, this took a trip to Palestine in 5th grade. I realized people needed help and that I should take advantage of my situation to give that help. I believe everyone should experience this humbling moment at some point in their life. Without it, I might not be here.
I did some service work in my college years, and it was the most fulfilling experience of my life, so rather than pursuing medicine right away after I graduated, I decided to postpone more schooling for another adventurous service opportunity, and now I am here at City Year, serving on an in-school service team in Nashua.
Descartes once said, “It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well.” Middle school is a time when kids seek social acceptance, oftentimes at the expense of academic passion, and if I can somehow help these children realize how important their education is and offer a safe, nurturing space for them without judgment, and if I can help them feel empowered, then I will have done a great deed.
Sandra Carbajal
My Typical Day
7:15- Meet with teammates and fellow team members outside of Timberland and perform readiness check to prepare for the day.
7:30- Hop in the vans and travel to school with my team.
7:50- Power greet the students coming into school to get them pumped up for the day.
8:05- Plan for the day and think of fun activities for the various after-school programs.
9:00- Work one-on-one with students from the 6th grade to the 8th grade.
11:20- Sit and talk to the kids during lunch to get to know them better.
11:45-Help 5th grade classroom with their math.
12:40-Lead 5th graders in fun games and activities during recess.
1:00- Tutor graders in reading and social studies and answer any questions they might have.
2:30- Run homework club after school with my teammates.We also run various other after school programs throughout the year teamed up with Seacoast Youth Services, such as, Earth keepers and Project Adventure.
4:30- Meet up to review the schedule for tomorrow.
5:30- Travel back to Timberland to discuss the day and plans for tomorrow.
6:00- I head home to my house on Hampton beach (which I share with two other City Year roommates) where I spend the rest of my day.
My name is Sandra Carbajal and I am on the Seabrook in-school service team. I was born in Fairfield, CA and grew up in Vacaville, CA. I joined City Year because I really enjoy being around children and having them see me as a role model. I must admit that I also like being around kids because it brings out the child in me. It makes me remember my childhood, the fun times that I've had and, of course, the bad times too. The troubles that I've gone through could come up in the lives of some of these kids that I will be working with and I will understand their frustration and their sadness and their loneliness and try to help them work through it. I see that these kids could have more problems than I could ever imagine and I just want to be a person that they can talk to and look to for support.
What am I into? Well, I enjoy doodling (even though I'm not Picasso), laughing, and making people smile. Doodling was, and is, a big part of my life. Whenever I am stressed, I draw a silly picture and laugh to myself, and when I’m down I like to draw a picture to represent what I'm feeling and then rip it up; I'm not sure why but it makes me feel better. If you can make me laugh then you aren't very special; sorry, but anyone can make me laugh, I love it so much. I also enjoy putting a smile on peoples’ faces, whether it be by doing or saying something nice, or through the contagious smile technique. I am a crazy person and I like to do crazy things, like jumping up and down, acting silly, and cheering runners on at Reach the Beach. My favorite quote is, "Its okay to be a copy cat; just make sure that you copy the right cat."