City Year Strengthens Children, Families and Schools
Skip to Content
United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County

City Year Strengthens Children, Families and Schools

Main Content

I was asked an important question at our team sponsorship breakfast with members of United Way of Greater Milwaukee: “What do your students need?” What my students need most can’t be bought, like the pencils they often lose. Although I can go to the store and buy them packs of pencils, making my students see their own potential is much more difficult. What they need is confidence.

Being a part of United Way’s James Madison Academic Team, I have the privilege of working with very bright and talented students, many of whom are not confident. Some refuse to put in the effort needed because they either don’t think they can, or one told them they can. My students are smart and capable but very discouraged.

I know confidence cannot be measured on an ACT test or through other statistics. I can’t tell you one of my students was 31% confident when I first started working with him, but is now 70% confident. Instead I can show you, however, that same student who used to anxiously ask “Is this right?” now calls me over and says “Ms. Ola, I answered them all and I think they’re all right!”

Or my student Ray, who completely refused to speak in the beginning of the year, but recently volunteered to read an entire passage out loud to the class without being prompted.

So what do my students need? They need more people who will believe in them, genuinely care about them, and push them to do even better when they think they are doing just good enough. They need more people who will encourage them to take risks that will help them grow into even stronger learners and leaders. So to answer the question, “what do your students need?” They need all of us out there to show up for them so that they can start showing up for themselves.

Being able to help create these small victories and share in the joy they give my students is the reason I look forward to every new school day and I am truly grateful for the work that we at City Year get to do with United Way.

- Ola Gawlik, City Year AmeriCorps member working with James Madison Academic Campus since September.