We are All in This Together!

Mofei Xu
Quincy Asian Resources, Inc.
Quincy, MA

^ Ambassadors having 'fun'!



My Algebra teacher used to say, “time flies when you are having fun,” and that is indeed true. It’s amazing how two months already past and I am now serving my third month at Quincy Asian Resources, Inc. If someone told me a year ago that this is where I will end up, I’m not sure I would believe it. I might have said I’m definitely heading to graduate school or getting a ‘real’ job.

Now I ask, how real can it get?

Sure, it may not pay me as much, or grant me a diploma and a fancy “Masters of something” after my name, but it certainly is worth every second of my time. By serving as an Ambassador of Mentoring I have learned so much about building up a program, going from structure building, policy writing, and recruiting to finally materializing that vision. It takes so much work to make every little detail come to life – those of you who think everything just magically appear at the stroke of a pen, it’s not true! I learned that I can no longer underestimate or devalue another’s efforts, even if his or her end product seems so limited. I learned that it is all part of the process, and while we strive for the grand portrait of our plans, sometimes we have to come down to Earth and to make our programs the best it can be within reason and capacity of our organizations. Obviously, this is not to say I am not proud of what I have accomplished so far; I am! After all, it is no longer me signing up to be part of someone else’s program; it is me signing up someone else to be a part of my program.

Though there are plenty of trials and challenges, I am happy to be where I am today. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that there are other Ambassadors who are in the same boat as I am, to keep me company and also to provide unconditional support. Together, the Ambassadors form a Corps that meets once a month to discuss and update each other on program progress as well as to exchange ideas and strategies. It is amazingly effective for new members like me in easing the nervousness of being in a foreign environment doing something I am unfamiliar with. To know there are others who are equally lost, confused and not sure what they are doing is a marvelous feeling, because c’mon everyone wants to fit in! Besides, that means we learn together, suffer together and win together. And to think I came in the first of day of orientation with a million knots and butterflies in my stomach, feeling queasy and scared! If this is what’s holding YOU back from committing to a year of service, please, it is NOTHING in comparison to everything wonderful that will come after. The Corps is a great place to meet people you otherwise would not have met, and to foster relationships that are meaningful in every way.

In addition to all of the above, we work together on projects such as Martin Luther King Jr. day of service and Youth Mentoring Day. We not only implement or develop mentoring programs in our own organizations; we also advocate for and increase the awareness of mentoring. We recognize that mentoring is important and should be taken notice of by a larger population. We want there to be resources for youths who need them, and also to provide places for volunteers who feel passionate about our cause. It is not an effort or campaign that will succeed overnight, but we believe in what we are doing, and I think that will motivate us to continue the rest of our lives with a desire to support mentoring.

So I ask, how real can it get? I think the answer is pretty clear – this is definitely one of those experiences that will go down as ‘I remember when…’

So cheers my fellow Ambassadors, to quote a popular musical, we are all in this together!