Reading as a college student

By Louisa Izydorczak

CG Reader

At a small, liberal arts college, it’s very easy to get so caught up in the day-to-day of classes, homework, extracurricular activities, and socializing that sometimes I forget that a world even exists beyond my campus. I am surrounded everyday by other young people who are have the privilege of attending an expensive, elite institution. Our education gives us the opportunity to go into any field we want, to have fulfilling careers where we make a lot of money and follow our dreams. Our education gives us freedom. It can be easy to forget that our experience is not the norm in America.

Volunteering as a reader for College Guild makes me think a lot about how my education has shaped my life and has strengthened my belief that everyone should have the opportunity to learn. By reading, I hear perspectives from students all over the country, with lives very different from my own. The thoughts students share with me often stick around, and I love how students will make me laugh, surprise me, and make me think critically about my own previously held ideas. It’s cliché, but I definitely learn more from the students than they learn from me.

College Guild’s mission is to help students “think outside the cell,” think about a world outside the one they live in every day. College students stand to benefit from the same experience. Reading for College Guild can connect us to the world outside of our own bubble. We have the freedom to choose this for ourselves. And I think it’s pretty amazing that we can help other people feel the same freedom by doing so.