It is well known that Union College prepares its students for the outside world. But what are Union alums really up to? Did their Union experience ready them for their current occupation?
For Andy Donnelly ‘10, his experiences at Union, both inside and outside the classroom, made all the difference. Today, Donnelly ‘10 works at MATCH Corp, a one-year urban education fellowship program.
For those of you who are confused about MATCH Corp, fear not. You are not alone. Donnelly ‘10 explained to me that he, along with 41 other tutors, are assigned six to seven middle school kids, whom they tutor in math, science, and humanities.
[pullquote]“[My teachers] did not just teach me Latin, Math and English. They modeled what it meant to be a good human being. I try to do the same for my students every day.”
-Andy Donnelly ‘10
[/pullquote]
“I run small group tutorials for six hours every day, two hours for each grade,” Donnelly’ 10 explained. In lieu of a desk job, he spends his day tutoring and running after-school music activities. He has even had the tedious task of running detention.
“The responsibilities of Corps members go far beyond simply teaching kids academic material. It is also our responsibility to develop in-depth relationships with our students and families through frequent communication both in and out of school,” he said.
Corp tutors use connections between students and their families to drive academic success and build character. “The whole philosophy behind the program is that inner-city, at-risk kids can become excellent, disciplined students with the right support and education.”
While Donnelly’s love of working with kids goes back to being a camp counselor in high school, he decided to become a tutor after realizing how significant his teachers were in influencing his life. “They did not just teach me Latin, Math and English,” he said. “They modeled what it meant to be a good human being. I try to do the same for my students every day.”
When asked how well Union prepared him for the outside world, Donnelly replied: “My experiences at Union further solidified my belief that education is the most important undertaking one can pursue in their lives. Armed with an excellent undergraduate education, I am more driven than ever to learn about the world and develop new skills.”
While he enjoyed his time at Union, the lack of diversity left him unprepared as “the majority of the kids at MATCH come from low-income, often single-parent families, and often live in areas plagued by poverty, crime, and violence. Coming into this job, there was a distinct period of culture shock.”
Donnelly praised the Kenney Center for working to better Schenectady as well as the relationship between Union students and those in Schenectady.
However, in spite of the programs offered, “I still found there was a bit of a ‘towns vs. gowns’ mentality at Union. Self-admittedly, I was involved in very little community service at Union, and did not feel any sense of stewardship to the surrounding community. When I hung out with friends, it was mostly on campus, and nobody ever really encouraged me to expand my boundaries. In some cases I was even distrustful and hostile of Schenectady locals because of some bad encounters and experiences.”
Donnelly added that he hoped efforts would be continued to a Union-Schenectady alliance.
“I think Union can make even more assertive efforts to get its students involved with the community and promote a sense of service,” he said.
Upon being asked what the strangest experience he’s had so far on the job, Donnelly ’10 replied: “One time a group of sixth graders came up and asked me for my autograph because they were convinced I had been on the Jerry Springer show. I’m pretty sure they still believe it to this day…”
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