Tuskegee University’s Garden Project
For those of you who do not know my name is Artisha Floyd. I am a Tuskegee University student completing her social work degree. I will graduate next Spring Semester- May 2012. I am excited and I am very thankful for these final 3 semesters that I am spending at Tuskegee University. I expect to learn so much- especially knowledge that I can take with me on to graduate school and the work force. Every day I am learning more about social work! I pray that with God’s help, I grow to be an amazing social worker!
So- for all of our new readers out there, and for all of you wonderful people who took the time out to read and actually be interested in this blog: Thank you. It’s really for you that I write this. I pray that you learn something and that this blog adds something positive to your life in some way. Thank you!
Now- let’s move on to the meat- the real content- of this blog: Tuskegee University’s Garden Project. Each Wednesday Tuskegee University’s junior and senior social work interns plant, grow, and pick fresh produce on one of Tuskegee’s farms. This past Wednesday jump started our summer session. 5 other interns and I (and Ms. McArthur- our field instructor) met up at the Farm not too far away from Tuskegee’s campus. We sat in the cool heat and discussed our prospective tasks for the day while we waited for a truckload of children to show up. We sat, spoke, and gained social work wisdom from Ms. McArthur while we waited for the children to come for the day.
Not too long later, a long van drove up- it was Mr. Tremmel and the kids! Ironically enough, the busload of kids that we expected was actually a small group of 7 children. They got out of the van and Ms. McArthur went and spoke to them for a few moments. They had parked a little bit down the road. We were originally by the field, but the van with the children was down the street. So, following a fellow intern’s lead, we, the social work interns, joined the conversation and walked over to and met the children as well. It was quite enjoyable! The great thing about this group of children is that their ages vary greatly. Out of the 7 children that came that day, their ages ranged from 4 to 12. As we met and said a few words with the children, Ms. McArthur assigned them with the task of picking a college student with which to work.
A 10-yr.-old sweet girl picked me. I was pleasantly surprised and a bit flattered. I gave her a high five, and we made our way to the field! As we walked over to the crops, I thought to myself- how will I tell her our task is to pull weeds? On our agenda for the day was exactly that- we were to pull weeds today so that the field could be clear enough to plant new produce the next week.
When we got over there and I told my little partner what we were to do, she surprised me. It was fairly warm outside and our task was to pull weeds from a garden. I handed her a glove and she didn’t complain once! She was a bit quiet- perhaps on the reserved side when it comes to new people. This girl was definitely a team player! She went for all the big weeds- and pulled them out, too! I asked her a few questions about herself. I asked her things like where she’s from, what she wants to do when she grows up, and what her favorite color is- and she politely answered all of my questions. I very much enjoyed working with this young lady and I pray that we get to continue in our “getting to know each other” process as the summer goes on.
Working in the farm with the kids this past Wednesday taught me a few things. As I watching my little partner pulling weeds, and standing there in the heat, I wondered a few things. I experienced a plethora of thoughts at that moment. I thought to myself- ‘man, she’s probably hot in this weather…’ I wondered to myself if she even wanted to be here- or if she was forced to come and do something that she didn’t want to do. All those thoughts were resolved with this one realization- she could enjoy this program in ways greater than she can ever express. This just could be one of those programs that are near and dear to the children’s hearts- the kind that they would never want to end. I pray that this program is just that; and that we pour into the children’s lives in ways greater than we can ever dream.
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