Starting with PULSE

Our afterschool year started on September 18th when all of our kids either returned to our site or started afterschool for the first time with us. However, I like to think that we do not officially begin until our PULSE students join our team. 

PULSE is a year long class in Boston College where students study a combination of theology and philosophy. This class has a service component where students have to complete 8 hours a week in a community program. This year, we are fortunate enough to welcome 16 students to our team of volunteers without whom we could not make our program happen. Each student is assigned a group either in LEARN (elementary school) or YLC (middle school) to assist the lead counselor and to form connections with the youth. 

So far, our 16 students have familiarized themselves with the youth in their groups and some have even taken the initiative to run activities with the kids. It is so nice to see how our kids quickly accept the PULSErs, as we call them, and welcome them into their world, while at the same time seeing the PULSErs quickly warm up to the kids. 

By Sandy Quispe, Site manager at St. Stephen's LEARN

Sandy, born in Peru, has lived in Dorchester since the age of 5. She grew up in the Boston Public school system graduating from Boston Arts Academy. She attained her bachelor's in psychology from University of Massachusetts Amherst. Working with children has always been one of her passions. She loves to see how children grow and develop from early childhood to adolescence.