When Brady Janssen wanted to get to know her new city about a year after enrolling at UChicago, a roommate recommend she get involved with the University’s Neighborhood Schools Program. An environmental science major, Janssen says the extent of her Chicago knowledge at that point was discovering—much to her south Florida-based family’s surprise—that she actually liked snow.
“When I came to Chicago, I didn’t really appreciate where I was for my first year and I realized that I just needed to get in touch with the community because I didn’t know anything about Hyde Park, other than the University is here and there’s one pizza place I like,” Janssen, now a third-year, said.
Janssen signed up to support the Neighborhood Schools Program’s (NSP) new Homework Help initiative early last year. Homework Help—a free after-school tutoring initiative—was established to build on NSP’s existing tutoring program, Maroon Tutor Match, which provides affordable one-on-one tutoring for South Side youth; and complement NSP’s core work placing UChicago students in educational support roles in local schools and communities. NSP operates within the University’s Office of Civic Engagement.
In her role as site coordinator, Janssen oversees scheduling with parents, matches participating local students with UChicago student tutors for 30-minute time slots, works closely with community partner teams on site, and occasionally serves as a tutor herself. The initiative currently runs Tuesdays and Thursdays at University Church on UChicago’s campus and at Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn. Janssen says she’s coordinated or directly worked with families looking to prepare their preschoolers for kindergarten all the way up to high schoolers studying for their SATs.
“It’s really been an interesting experience working with the kids, it’s great that the word has gotten out there,” she said. “I’ve loved being able to form a strong bond with the students.”
The work has offered insight into the kinds of challenges many local students and families are facing, particularly as schools continue recovering from the pandemic. Though the experience may not directly align with her goal to pursue a career in STEM, Janssen says Homework Help has connected her to Chicago and UChicago’s neighboring communities on a deeper level. It’s also reinforced lessons she’s learned engaging with community partners as a new-student-orientation leader and supporting local preschool classrooms through NSP’s Jumpstart initiative.
“You’re not just here in Chicago to go to school, you’re living in this neighborhood, you’re walking on these streets,” Janssen said. “I’m a big advocate for NSP because I think it’s a great opportunity for undergrads and grad students to really get involved in the community and give back. When a Homework Help student tells you they got a good grade on a test or ‘thank you for help on that essay, I understand it better,’ it just lets me know that I’m doing something impactful.”
