Meet the SALs- Marissa

The Social Action Leaders are a huge part of the Social Action Program. Every year, a group of Seniors are selected to be Social Action leaders for the incoming Freshman class. They dedicate time during the summer to do research, prepare for class discussions, organize informational trips, and focus on being leaders within the Stone Ridge community. Impelled to Act took a closer look at the impressive group of Seniors and asked them various questions about their experiences as SALs and some personal questions as well. Our fifth interviewee is Marissa Jobe, leader of the Human Rights rotation. When did you first decide you wanted to be a SAL? I don’t know. I think around junior year I was trying to decide what I wanted to do for Social Action. One of my friends had started a Social Action website and was able to give back to the Social Action Program and I though that being a SAL would be a better fit for me, in terms of giving back to the program and still doing service during senior year. What site do you take your freshman to and how did you find it? The Laogai Museum on Human Rights. It’s off of Dupont circle in D.C. and Mr. Hulseman recommended it. It’s very hard to have a human rights site where you’re going to be physically able to interact with people or do work. If you go somewhere you’re going to be stuffing pamphlets or whatever. So by going to this site, the freshman are learning a lot and they’re spreading awareness and developing a consciousness to some of the issues that are going on in China. I just happen to think that’s better than going somewhere where they weren’t going to be able to actually perform service. What’s the hardest thing about being a SAL? Spending my day with freshman. It gets really tiring and it’s not that I don’t enjoy it, but it’s like at the end of the day or by the time most of the SALs take a break on the teaching day, they feel like they need a break from the freshman; and want to be with other people that are their own age or adults. If there were something you could change about the Social Action Program what would you change? I don’t know. Being on SAAB (Social Action Advisory Board) it’s even harder to answer. It’s hard to say exactly what needs tweaking, but my guess right now is that reflection needs tweaking, but I haven’t been in an actual reflection group since junior year, so I can’t say how it’s been this year or how the activities have been. But if I had to guess I’d say reflection. What do you think is the most important world issue that we face today? I think, just social justice issues and human rights issues. If people just observed other people’s human rights then so many of the other issues and problems in the world wouldn’t be as big and therefore easier to change.