I'm looking forward to my time at Sojourner!

The following was written by Rachel Coffey, a sophomore education major, from Miami Hamilton about her experience at Sojourner Recovery Services Adolescent Center, referred to as "Buckeye". This week will be her second week serving there. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Sojourner thus far! The first day I was excited and nervous at the same time, I really had no idea what to expect at Buckeye. When arriving at Buckeye the youth was so happy to see us and they were ready for us to play some kickball. We all had a great time playing an active game outside together. It was a nice "ice breaker" for me personally because I was able to interact and talk to my teammates about strategies on the best way to win. Being able to interact with the youth this way opened the door for many other conversations and activities to occur. Through playing kickball I noticed first hand that the boys are all very competitive and they wanted their teammates to not get an out. I also noticed that these adolescents are very supportive of one another not only because they were on the same teams but they also show this action when playing individual sports. For example, playing horse, making bracelets, shooting hoops, playing cards, and many other activities that we do at Sojourner.

I have played many one­-on-­one games with different individuals at Buckeye and each of the adolescents are so easy to get along with and a pleasant to be around. I love giving the youth at Buckeye the opportunity to be a kid having "sober" fun by playing outside activities with them, after all, they are just kids!

After only being at Buckeye for just two days I was able to see something so rewarding. A youth at Buckeye had completed his program and was able to go home. Only knowing this individual an entire four hours of my life it amazed me how happy and proud I was of him for completing and sticking with this program at Sojourner.

The adolescents at Sojourner are truly great individuals. I love being a part of their Mondays and Thursdays, even though it is just a short amount of time. They have already impacted me personally because of their great attitudes and humorous personalities. I hope throughout the rest of the summer they can say the same about the Miami students working with them. I am looking forward to the rest of my time at Sojourner!

Below are pictures from Thursday 4-square game. Rachel is in pink, Robynne in green, Hannah in black and Eileen in White. To view more pictures from Thursday visit our flickr!