Matt Hitzhusen ’01

How complex could it be to educate a child? Teachers teach and students learn. What more could there be to it? Until I began tutoring Hartford-area children through the Boys & Girls Club at Trinity, and later through the ESF (Education, Sports and Fun) mentoring program, this was my naively held belief. It had never occurred to me before that successful education results as much from what occurs outside of the classroom as it does from actual student-teacher contact.

     I have the utmost respect for teachers, but I believe that no matter how much headway they make with students in the classroom, their efforts cannot fully succeed without some external source of educational enrichment. My parents provided this enrichment by reading to me and later, when I could read, listening and encouraging me to read aloud. I came to expect that they would read to me for at least an hour each night and seldom fell asleep disappointed. My parents raised me in a nurturing and supportive atmosphere in which learning was important for future success but also exciting and fun. I may never have truly understood the fundamental role of this home atmosphere in the learning process, but as a teenager I watched my parents duplicate it with my younger brother, Andrew, and sister, Ariel, and I realized how important it is and how early it must begin.  Unfortunately, the time my parents were willing and able to spend with me is often missing in the lives of the children I work with. Having a job and trying to provide for your family is not only difficult but also time-consuming. If your child’s education is not a top priority, it will quickly slip to the bottom of the list of parental responsibilities. 

   Being at Trinity has brought to light exactly how much I took my opportunities for granted and how I could very easily have grown up in an environment similar to the children whom I mentor. I have been allowed virtually every advantage to succeed and, while I am extremely proud to be graduating from Trinity in May, graduation will be more the fulfillment of expectation than the attainment of an ultimate goal; my family and I expected nothing less.

    I believe that education is the root of success (although I am still looking for a job after I graduate!). I devote as much time as I can to helping supplement the Hartford educational system because I want these children to expect to go to college rather than see it as a vague possibility or even less. When I juxtapose my educational experience with the experiences of the kids I mentor and tutor, I cannot help but feel a deep-rooted sense of desire and obligation to help them succeed and overcome obstacles I never had the misfortune of facing. The children the mentoring program works with are from predominantly minority, working-class families; often have only one parent living in the home; and generally do not live in an atmosphere that emphasizes education. Because of the combination of these factors, many of the children have difficulty in school. I believe this widespread difficulty results from their never having learned how to learn. The ability to learn is often taken for granted, but learning is a process, not merely a talent or a God-given gift. By the time children begin school, the foundations of this learning process should be firmly entrenched. I believe that it is exactly this missing or partial foundation that eventually stunts the intellectual growth of children who, with different opportunities, would be flourishing academically. In working with such kids, I hope to instill in them not only a love for learning but also an ability to learn and build upon that knowledge, thus enabling them to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible.

     I like telling people about how much fun it is to work with children on a daily basis, but the fun is only part of the story. The truth is that working with kids is hard work and that sometimes it is anything but enjoyable. Sometimes it is difficult to see past the fact that a child not only does not appreciate your effort to help, but actually sees you as an authority figure to vent anger or frustration upon. I do not enjoy this part of the mentoring relationship but I do endure it because I recognize that the purpose of working with children is much deeper than the goal of befriending them. Make no mistake: trust and friendship are integral to any mentoring relationship, but my goal in helping to run the ESF mentoring program at Trinity is not about making friends, but rather about providing opportunities for children who have not gotten the chance they deserve.

     Helping kids is probably the single most rewarding act that I have encountered while in college. I love kids; I love the feeling of helping one of them learn and actually being present to witness the birth of understanding. Seeing the transition from bewilderment to comprehension, and being able to help in that process is unbelievably gratifying. It is the part of the program that I cannot express in words but only hope that others will eventually experience for themselves by being active mentoring volunteers.

     I came to college with a desire to learn but never envisioned that learning takes place on a number of different levels—not only for children, but for all students. My experience as a mentor and tutor has not only been beneficial for the children whom I helped, but also for me. Mentoring is a source of enjoyment and personal pride for me. When I look back upon my Trinity experience, I believe that my activities in the community will hold as much significance as my experience in the classroom.