Psychology majors surprise elementary students with goodie bags
Photos courtesy of Lee University Office of Public Relations.
Last month, students from Dr. Susan Ashcraft’s Lifespan Development class delivered personalized gift bags as a service project to second-graders at Blythe-Bower Elementary School.
Ashcraft, a professor of psychology and human development, paired each of her students with a second-grader to craft personalized bags.
“We made the bags, … and we put handmade cards with encouraging quotes and messages,” said Ashcraft. “We had a list of the students’ names, and my students got assigned a second-grader to make a gift bag for.”
Tanner Johnson, a sophomore nursing major, filled her child’s goodie bag with fun toys.
“We were told to bring goodies, toys and things that some of the students don’t get on a regular basis. So, we went out as classmates and purchased items like silly string, toys, candy and things like that to brighten their day,” said Johnson. “The goodie bags were supposed to be filled with excitement.”
Johnson enjoyed being part of the service project because of her child’s reaction.
“He really liked that I got him a little Bible notebook with Scriptures in it,” Johnson said. “Just seeing their faces light up — [the bag] is not much, but it’s something to make their day happier.”
Rejoice Nwankwo, a sophomore psychology major, connected with her child through art and by gifting him a coloring book.
“[Before making the goodie bag,] he said he really liked coloring and drawing, and he showed me some of his pictures that he drew,” Nwankwo said. “[After receiving the bag,] he wanted to show all his classmates the coloring book that he got.”
The trip to Blythe-Bower Elementary was meaningful to the Lifespan students because they got to interact with kids in the age group they are studying. Nwankwo emphasized the importance of completing a service project where she got to see child development in action.
“We were talking about that age group, and it was really awesome getting to put aspects of what you learned in class and getting to be with the younger kids that you’re learning about,” Nwankwo said. “[It was interesting to] see how their emotions and how their egos came out.”
The service project was also important for Nwankwo because of the personal connections she made with her second-grader.
“At the end of the day, he didn’t want me to leave. He said that he wanted me to stay, so we could keep coloring. It was a quick time with him, but now I’ve had an impact on a kid,” Nwankwo said. “He’ll look back and remember a student from Lee University actually came to give him something. I hope he can grow up and do something like this for other people.”
Ashcraft saw physical evidence of how her students made connections with their second graders.
“I came back that week after the project and every second grader had made their student a card to say thank you,” said Ashcraft. “It started out as let us serve you, but when students get the cards back, it will be meaningful because they are a sign that they connected with the kids.”
For more information about the Blythe-Bower project, contact Dr. Susan Ashcraft at sashcraft@leeuniversity.edu.
