Vedica Jha
Contributing Writer
One of the many inspiring program houses on campus is WooCrew in Calcei House. Their program works at Wooster High School in an after school program that helps kids who are struggling in school. The program includes 10 College of Wooster students who work with high school students having difficulties in school, often due to unstable home-lives.
Children with nontraditional home-lives frequently have additional responsibilities that are conventionally thought of as belonging to parents and may lead to children having less time or energy to focus on schoolwork. Subsequently, these children can be more likely to face academic challenges.
This is where WooCrew comes in, assisting students with various academic tasks like studying and completing homework. Sometimes, it’s as simple as being available for questions. Occasionally, the members of WooCrew also help facilitate meetings between students and their teachers to set up an academic plan to keep them on track.
Carly Eppler ’17, the house coordinator of WooCrew, said the program attempts to encourage a positive outlook on education. It also provides mentors who care about students’ success and lend academic and personal support. Additionally, it gives the students a chance to make friends outside of the classroom.
Eppler shared a memorable experience from last semester that exemplified the meaningful relationships between the students and their mentors that are formed through WooCrew: “During fall break, most program members were off-campus and could not go to WooCrew. Upon their return, a student welcomed them with sheer joy and screamed all of their names in excitement,” said Eppler. The student had received a B+ on an essay she’d worked on with her WooCrew mentor. For this program it’s the little things that matter and make up the importance in the big picture.