Serra student Grant Gibbs ‘25 came to campus this school year fresh off of an internship for Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula, which helped him hone his notion of brotherhood through respect, integrity, inclusion, and compassion.
“It’s all about being there for people who need someone,” he reflected.
“There” was Hoover School in Redwood City, where Gibbs worked weekdays for nine hours per day. He provided academic assistance in classrooms for fifth graders in their reading and math studies each morning, and then each afternoon he supported their Camp Galileo STEAM activities, such as making paper mache dinosaurs.
“Sometimes, I could connect closer with the students than the teachers could just because I’m closer to their age, and because I still know what it’s like to be in school,” Gibbs said. One kid named Manny, was really bright and energetic, but Gibbs noticed he struggled with reading and keeping up with the Camp Galileo instructions.
He wasn’t getting enough individual help during the regular school year. At Serra, we have a lot more opportunities to ask for help. It was eye-opening to realize that, and it was rewarding for me to work with him.”
Gibbs plans to continue serving BGCP, as he had throughout the last several years alongside his older brother, Henry, and with the encouragement of their father, Patrick Gibbs, a BGCP board member, whose own parents supported Boys & Girls Clubs in Southern California during his childhood.
As Gibbs said. “BGCP offers a great internship opportunity. It’s a lot more than just fulfilling service hours. It really helps the students, and it helps you grow as a person.”