I didn’t realize (amazing volunteers, what they do at USN)

Meet parent Cristina Saoud in 2018-2019 USNA Volunteer Coordinator Melissa Flatt's column to encourage parents to get involved.
by Melissa Flatt, USNA volunteer coordinator
 
Last year, I was asked by our illustrious University School of Nashville Association if I would consider being the step-up volunteer coordinator. As the name implies, that is a two-year commitment, with the second year being volunteer coordinator. It’s my second year. Don’t get me wrong, it’s cool to have a title, but what I really do are two main things: 1. If you say you’d like to get involved at USN, I help you connect with the right person and place (like I said, cool job, but even better, wait for it…), and 2. I get to interview really awesome people who volunteer at USN and share their stories with you. All that said, here’s the first of this year’s column I like to call “I didn’t realize.”
 
Happy November, USN. As we are almost to Thanksgiving, it’s the perfect time to stop and appreciate another one of our fabulous volunteers. This month, I’d like to introduce you to Cristina Saoud. The Saoud family moved to Nashville from Ohio, and this year is the family's second year at USN. Cristina is a fulltime professional mother for her two active boys, Marcelo in second grade, and Paulo in fifth grade. She also enjoys running and is preparing for a marathon in Berlin, Germany. And she loves volunteering at USN.
 
Some new to USN community members might choose to wait a little while before getting involved, but Cristina became an active volunteer her first year. For these past two years, she has enjoyed being a Lower School Helping Hand and pitching in wherever the needs arise, particularly with Fall Fest, Fall Book Frenzy, and Artclectic. In fact, you may have seen Cristina last year popping popcorn at Fall Fest while the moans and growls of “Hotel Transylvania” echoed through the gym.
 
But Cristina takes her “as needs arise” volunteer role to heart. The perfect example is a Lower School project LS Technology Specialist Mark Littlefield wanted to do this year. Littlefield had the students design a maze. Next, they wrote a program to move robots around their mazes. Pretty cool, isn’t it? I know I didn’t get to do that in elementary school, my maze would have turned right, another right, then gone up, and… but I digress. In order to create their mazes, children needed cardboard strips. Lots and lots of cardboard strips. In fact, over 550 cardboard strips ranging from 8 to 12 inches in length, all 1 inch in width. USNA Office Manager Debra Alberts sent out the email asking for help. Cristina immediately responded, “I can do that.” (Fun exchange between Cristina and Deb ensued.)
            Deb: Are you sure you read that correctly? It’s 550 strips. Five hundred and fifty.
            Cristina: Yes. I can do it.
And she did, working in the mailroom for about three hours, helped by USN parent Rashonda Lewis. They knocked that job out. And Cristina even says, “It was fun. I got to talk to so many people as I was working in the mailroom”
 
So, I had to ask Cristina one of my favorite volunteer questions, “Would you do it again?”
 
Her answer? “Yes, of course. I am so happy to help the USN community and teachers, and it’s a great opportunity to meet people. I like to be involved in my children’s educational process. I like to serve. I know that the teachers need to spend quality time with the students, and this time that we (volunteers) give allows them to have more time with students. I enjoy being where my kids are and being at the school. I have time to do it and I’m happy to share my free time with USN.”
 
When I asked Cristina if there was anything she’d like to see change at USN, she said it would be great to further integrate the students into volunteer opportunities. I agree that it’s never too early to learn to be involved. We have such a strong community, and we have great kids.
 
Which goes right along with Cristina’s words of wisdom. “Just try to do your best and always serve your community—and love others.”
 
We love you, Cristina Thank you for choosing to spend your time with us at USN.
 
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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.