That “Aha Moment”

Living in a small, privileged town like Scituate, SHS students may forget about the large population of Americans who live in extreme poverty.

Exploring other ways of life, forming life-long relationships, and helping those in need are some of the goals of the Appalachia Service Project (ASP). The local ASP volunteer group is led by Scituate resident Nancy Pasko, who has been involved in the program for 14 years. Each year, Scituate students participate in the program, which includes fundraising during the school year and traveling to Appalachia for two weeks during the summer.

Pasko appreciates being able to travel to West Virginia with the group of volunteers and “seeing the look of relief in everyone’s eyes” from the families who desperately need help. She does admit the tiring schedule of working 9-5, Monday through Friday, is emotionally and physically exhausting, but she said it’s all worth it.

Pasko said this is a once in a lifetime experience that she hopes everyone has a chance to experience.

For the past three years, SHS parent Steve Young has participated in the trip. His commitment and concern for the families living in West Virginia pushes him to volunteer his time. He also encouraged his two daughters, Isabelle and Caroline, to get involved. Young explained that on his first trip he was not expecting to see the living conditions he witnessed. He knew the conditions were not as nice as Scituate, but it was a lot worse than he expected. He explained that the average family living in West Virginia supports themselves on $500-$750 a month. He stressed that his biggest takeaway from the trip was the “amount of poverty we have in this country and we’re not exposed to it.” “It’s in our own backyard,” Young said, “and it’s our job as a country to work to make this world a better place.”

Young plans to continue volunteering with ASP “for as long as he can” because of the impact he is making. Young referred to the “aha moments,” explaining that every student who joins the program goes through an “aha moment.” It’s the moment that volunteer workers realize they are making an impact on somebody else’s life. According to Young, the “aha moment” usually comes at the end of the week when all the volunteers gather in a circle to share their takeaways. Young said this activity brings everyone closer together and is the perfect wrap-up for the week.

SHS senior Erin Lumnah has joined the ASP trip with her mother for the past two years. Going into the trip, Lumnah didn’t know many people in her group, but over the course of two weeks, she formed lifelong bonds. Lumnah’s advice to anyone who may be interested in joining ASP is to “be open-minded about your group.” She said, “The best part about the trip was making new friends.”

Lumnah said she also enjoyed learning how to make repairs. As a volunteer, she realized how lucky she is to live in Scituate — especially when she saw a family that had no beds, running water or food. Lumnah said the Appalachia Service Project is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity that everyone should experience — not only to form bonds with others, but to help someone less fortunate, and to learn something about yourself.