Do you enjoy spending time with children? Do you like volunteering? Have you ever wanted to change someone’s life? Becoming involved in the Big Brother/Big Sister (BBBS) program could not be a more rewarding experience to fulfill all of those questions.
I have always wanted to be a part of the BBBS program, and when my college organized the program, you can bet that I wasn’t going to let that opportunity pass me by. No, I’m not trying to advertise the program, I’ve just had a wonderful experience so far and I would like to share it. Though, if you do read this article and feel as though it would be a good fit for you, then I suggest you look into it further.
Let me start at the beginning of my time as a Big Sister, which was when I wasn’t a Big Sister at all (well, in the program. I am a big sister in real life and that is even more important to me). I had heard about there being a meeting at the school to inform interested students in joining the program. Since I was still a lowly freshman and wasn’t comfortable going places on my own just yet, I convinced some of my friends to go to the meeting with me. From the moment I entered the room and they showed us this video I knew that that was going to be the start of an incredible journey. I listened to the requirements of our program and the details of the process and left pleased with myself for trying to get involved.
That was in October. Come November and December, we finally had our interviews to become Bigs. There were many more girls than boys interested in becoming Bigs, so the competition to be a Big Sister was stronger. All but one of the friends I went to the meeting with decided that they didn’t have the time or had other commitments that would get in the way, which was fine. It is a huge commitment to follow through with and it does take precedence over many other events. Then came winter break, which meant that we had to play the waiting game to see if we would be matched with a Little and become a Big.
Long story short, I became a Big and was matched with my Little Sister, who is very bright and funny. She and I get along great, and I couldn’t be happier with the match. When the Match Support Team is looking for a Little to match someone with, they try to align the qualities that you have with the qualities that the Little has, including common interests, personality traits and familiar backgrounds. We set goals together, some predetermined in the program but others that we get to set for ourselves.
So what are the requirements to be a Big? For our program through the school we must be available for a full three semesters. They go through a series of check-ins with you leading up to your interview and they will perform a background check to ensure you are able to be a Big. If you’re approved, you will be given a profile of the Little they matched you with, without the Little knowing you’ve been given their profile. That way, if you don’t feel comfortable with this Little for whatever reason, the Little would never know that their profile was passed by which saves them that rejection. Everything is very confidential throughout the process until you decide on a profile and agree to meet your Little in person.
I’m a semester into meeting with my Little on designated outing dates and I must say that we are having a lot of fun and are getting more and more comfortable with each other with every visit. Each outing we have lunch with our Littles, have a group activity that we do with other Bigs/Littles in the program, such as building our own lava lamps, making volcanoes or doing scavenger hunts, and then we have about an hour or so of one-on-one time where we get to do anything we want on campus. My Little and I have started to learn Japanese together, played catch with some of our other Big/Little friends and have ventured throughout my campus’s hidden gems.
