Minnesota Children's Museum of Rochester: Jobs

Here’s the deal – the moment you start working somewhere you can no longer volunteer in the same place. This doesn’t always work this way but it can. The issue is that the moment you’re employed, your time is a commodity that you must be paid for.

I will beginning working at the MCM Rochester as a Floor Lead in one week.

I had been debating whether or not I should accept the position for some time. Accepting the job means I can no longer volunteer at MCM. But the truth is, I will still be spending time helping out.

Another important lesson to learn from this is that volunteering can and should lead to potential job offerings.

(Momentary Tangent) Did you know that some companies now have robots looking through the resumes sent to them as job applications? These robot look for specific words in the text and, if they find them, the resume is tossed.

So if you can become a real person, as opposed to a piece of paper, to these companies, you’re chances of being hired may be increased. More importantly, volunteering allows you some time to decide whether or not you enjoy working somewhere.

Final Message: Get out there and volunteer, my friends.

Rochester Public Library: HELP!

What? Books, movies, computers and more all for the low cost of a library card.
Who? High School students and beyond can volunteer.
Volunteer Process Time: Took me around 2 months but the process can be shortened if you quickly contact the volunteer coordinators.
Website: http://www.rochesterpubliclibrary.org/


Thursday, January 10th marked my first tutoring session at the Rochester Public Library. The experience was great but I quickly learned that I couldn’t make an impact without assistance from other volunteers.

The first two young adults that entered the tutoring room were looking for help with their mathematic homework. I can figure a problem out given time, but I’m no math pro. We would have been lost if another tutoring volunteer hadn’t of arrived. Even better, the volunteer tutor was a math teacher.

Volunteering at a new place can be tricky. That’s why my motto is to never be like the guy who keeps driving and refuses to stop and ask for directions. We all need some help.

Minnesota Children's Museum of Rochester: Spark

This is something I’ve only found while performing volunteer work. Specifically, I’ve only encountered the spark while working with kids. On Friday, Jan. 4, I found the spark again.

I had been playing with cushion blocks at the museum’s architecture and design exhibit when I asked a very young lady if she would like to help me build something. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to. But the girl pointed up at a suggested design and we got to work.

We proceeded to build an arch and then a small doorway by building up the cushion blocks. She relished in the opportunity to hesitantly knock the constructions down once they were completed. Seeing what we had created, two young boys offered to help and one of them had an idea.

Spark.

His eyes dilate and go wide. A smile spreads across his face. He gets it and, most importantly, he has an idea to add! The moment disappears in a flash of jumping and running and building of blocks.

First we built a house, then it was a tiger’s cave, and then it was a tiger’s maze and eventually a space ship, which we used to travel to a desert. In the middle of the desert, we had to escape from a shark into the safety of our space ship, only to repeat the same adventure. More kids joined into our fun and they brought their ideas.

If you can think back to a moment when you experienced the “spark,” please leave a comment and let me know.