31–40 of 136 posts
As an American from an immigrant family, I owe so much to the volunteer mentors, teachers, coaches, and community activists that volunteered in programs I was in growing up in New York City. It eventually led me to go to college, then on to work as a NASA engineer and for many startup companies afterward. I've personally volunteered in NYC, LA, Spain, Brazil, mostly in the homeless, substance abuse, and prostitution/…
I did find it instructive helping out as a baseball coach when my son was young. There I learned (I thought) why the American school system puts the cutoff for a passing grade somewhere around 60: if you give a child something he can do 2/3 of the time, he may remain engaged in the task; 1/3 of the time, he will be bored and frustrated. I guess it did teach me something about teaching.
These days I teach ESL to adults one night a week during much of the year. I wonder at times whether academic tutoring of children might be more useful.
I volunteer, but not for anything related to software development. I'm an ASL (Assistant Scout Leader) for a scout troop in London. I enjoyed my time in the scouts as a kid, and i figured if i was only able to enjoy it as others gave up their time, perhaps it's time I pay it forward. Turns out, it's been incredibly rewarding. In our career we tend to spend loads of time inside, and this has got me out doing active th…
Last spring I mentored young women (high school age) who were interested in getting into STEM. Teams of students were basically making a mini-startup, including coding an MVP, business plan, etc.
The work I get most fulfilment from is working with trans/non-binary/gender-diverse individuals directly, in particular with workshops that discuss normalized attitudes that have a detrimental effect on well-being.
Has it helped me grow though? No, I wouldn't say so. It's just things I do because it has to be done.
I’d accidentally ridden into a Critical Mass Cycle protest ride in London around 2010. Ended up setting one up in Bath, that ran for a bit and started attending the local cycle campaigning group. A respect ride held in honour of a young man that was killed in a hit and run however became something bigger than a Friday night protest ride, and I was the main speaker at a large ride held in his honour. It was rather hum…
I am currently on a table with local health care organizations to improve trans-related health services in the area. I also give workshops to trans/non-binary/gender-diverse individuals as well as cisgender individuals that work with them (HR, psychotherapists.) Right now this amounts to about an evening's worth of work every week for the last 5 months. Last spring I mentored young women (high school age) who were in…
I’d accidentally ridden into a Critical Mass Cycle protest ride in London around 2010. Ended up setting one up in Bath, that ran for a bit and started attending the local cycle campaigning group. A respect ride held in honour of a young man that was killed in a hit and run however became something bigger than a Friday night protest ride, and I was the main speaker at a large ride held in his honour. It was rather hum…
Thank you for keeping me safe, on the bike on and on foot. This sort of advocacy and hard work really does impact a lot of people and lets them do things they have to (get to work) and things they want to (go to the country park for lunch) much easier and safer.
I started when I was 16 and have gone every summer. I credit my volunteering with nearly every one of my soft skills since it's a lot of work to entertain 85 11-13 year olds for a week.
I'm very good at presenting because I have spent years public speaking to particularly hard audiences. If you don't captivate an audience of 13 year olds they will let you know. I am much more patient and flexible from years spent working with kids. I'm a pretty introverted guy and don't usually want to be front and center, but I have developed a whole camp persona I can slip into anytime I need to command a room.
Sometimes it rains and you need to spend a few hours inside. Sometimes an activity you think was going to be really fun just doesn't work. No point in getting frustrated about the weather or an idea that didn't pan out, just change to the next idea and keep the fun going.
11-13 year olds can be extremly cruel to one another and these kids haven't learned to control their emotions and responses yet. Calm, patient listening goes so much further than just trying to fix whatever problem they are bringing to you.
My time at camp has been hugely rewarding and I'm certain I wouldn't have gotten my current job without the skills I learned there.
To my dying day the best idea I will ever have is plunger olympics, which is tons of olympic events performed with toilet plungers. There is plunger toss, plunger lacross, and plunger luge where you lay on a skateboard and pull yourself along with plungers to name a few. The crowning events are synchronized plunging and the plunger regatta in the pool. The kid who wins each event keeps a plunger as the prize and we open and close with lighting the campfire with a burning plunger.
I did a year of remote CS teaching for kids in Kentucky with Microsoft's TEALS program. Great experience. I actually used to be a teacher so it was nice getting back in that mode. Teaching is also a great way to practice breaking down technical subjects and making them understandable. It really helps with soft skills - communicating with non techies, constructively criticizing people, making complicated ideas simple…