Sophomore Nakayla Burke puts her giving spirit into action through various volunteer programs. One program in particular, which she attends regularly, has stuck out to her.

“I volunteer almost every Saturday from 9:30-1:30,” Nakayla said.

Nakayla spends most Saturdays at The Dallas Public Library volunteering at an ESL program sponsored by the company MoneyGram. The program allows the adults trying to learn the english language to bring their children and have them be chaperoned by students like Nakayla.

“The parents that I’ve met there when the drop off their children speak Spanish, rarely understanding the English language,” Nakayla said. “This is an ESL class for the adults to learn, but while they are there, we are with the children playing games, arts and crafts and reading.”

An average day at the ESL program starts off well before the parents or their kids arrive. Nakayla said she usually starts with a discussion of what will occur, getting the rooms set up, and preparing for the day’s activities. As soon as the children and their parents arrive, the day begins.

“We start off with some music that we can dance to to wake them up,” Nakayla said. “Then when they are less shy, they can do word searches, for the older ones, or games. Then we get to the games or arts and crafts.”

As an average volunteer day with the program lasts relatively long, Nakayla also prepares the room and children to eat lunch with their parents. It must run smoothly, as more activities are planned for afterwards.

“When it gets close to lunch time, we straighten up the room so that the parents can eat lunch with the kids if they want to or take them to get something to eat,” Nakayla said. “After lunch we have some more arts and building. Towards the end we do DEAR, which stands for Drop Everything And Read.”

This may seem like a big commitment for a high schooler, but Nakayla insists that she enjoys her time there and has even formed a special bond with one of the children despite her only volunteering there a few times.

“So far we’ve only had a few classes together, and the kids kind of shuffle a bit, but there is this one little girl who is just so sweet and adorable,” Nakayla said. “I feel like we get along great even though she is three, but she is just a sweet girl and we like to draw together.”

Proving to be a good use of her time, Nakayla says she used to want to be an elementary school teacher which makes the program very enjoyable for her.

“It is a great experience, and I really like working with the kids and other adults.”