Learning with lunch; lunch buddy program allows CMU, Oasis High School students to learn from each other
Honor senior Abbey Moreno and high school student Ryan Hoffman have lunch together every day.
The two discuss sports, movies, what they did over the weekend and anything else which comes to mind.
"We just talk, we mostly watch ESPN, sports," Hoffman said.
The 17-year-old Mount Pleasant resident is in his fourth year at Oasis Alternative High School, 3350 S. Isabella Road. He and Moreno have been eating lunch together all semester.
Moreno started volunteering at Oasis last semester as part of HDF 219: Field Work for family studies or child development majors, she said. She had to perform 60 hours of volunteer work, so she volunteered at Oasis and at a preschool.
"I really like all the teachers there," she said. "All the kids are very nice and I like being able to help any way I can."
Hoffman and Moreno both enjoy the one-on-one time offered through the new lunch buddies program.
This is the first year Oasis has had the program, said Counselor Laura Gourlay.
Many seniors start volunteering at Oasis their last semester at Central Michigan University and then have to leave, Gourlay said. She started the lunch buddy program this year to attract more sophomores and juniors, who will be able to volunteer at the school longer.
"I met with (Dean of Students) Bruce Roscoe ... and mentioned that I wanted to ... tap into the resource that (CMU) is," she said. "I love the idea of (CMU) students being involved in what we have going on here."
Gourlay said she tries to match students to their interests. Though the school is perfect for human growth and development, sociology, psychology and youth studies majors, she is willing to work with anyone.
One of the hardest workers, she said, was a nutrition major who would bring in materials to make smoothies or fresh fruit and teach students about healthy eating.
"I love the idea of putting what you're learning in the classroom into practice," she said. "It's one thing to study it in a textbook, but it's another thing to be (here)."
Gorlay thinks the college students are a good influence on her students, giving them someone to talk to about the college experience and breaking down the stereotypes local students may have of college life.
She said even though college students and high school students are only a few years apart, they come from virtually different worlds — worlds with more than enough common ground for Moreno and Hoffman.
Hoffman said he was not looking forward to spending another two years in high school as he wants to finish more classes and finish sooner.
"I didn't really like high school either all that much," Moreno said. "I feel like at that age you're more willing to talk to someone closer to your age"
