Helen's Story

“I was looking for ways to contribute to criminal justice [reform] in general, and was slightly nervous to actually go in. But the training and onboarding events made me feel much more comfortable and confident. It was definitely an amazing learning experience and I can now say that the Petey Greene Program is one of the best organizations I have worked with.”

Helen Shi served as a Petey Greene Program volunteer tutor for two semesters during her undergraduate academic career at Tufts University. She wanted to get involved with a mission-driven service organization focused on education inside the walls of our correctional facilities because of her close relationship to someone who is system-impacted. 

Helen was a Math major and brought those skills to tutoring, but her favorite part of the experience was not sharing her mathematical expertise; rather, it was connecting with her students on topics that range beyond the coursework at hand. “I was able to establish really great relationships with my students. They would share with me their goals and interests: one of my students spoke about their plans to travel the world. Another shared their big passion for music.”

One of Helen’s favorite memories proved just how much her students cared for her, too. “During my last tutoring session, [my students] collectively bought me a graduation gift that every one of my students signed. It was a little graduation cap pillow and they had each drawn little pictures and left personal messages. I just never expected that. It was an amazing last session and made me emotional to finish my service with the PGP.”

“This experience has had a tremendous impact on me because it actually changed my future career path. I won’t be doing things related to my major but more representative of my volunteering experience. And I will bring what I learned here to this new role. I think my biggest takeaway is to always learn from your students and appreciate them being there, just for being there.”

Helen’s time with the Petey Greene Program greatly impacted her and her future career choices. She deviated from her initial plans related to her Math major and is now serving as an AmeriCorps member with another organization that serves under-resourced school districts.