Teen Mentor Experience

In high school, I volunteered as a teen mentor with the local chapter of Teen Trendsetters, of which I was a founding member. Each week, I spent an hour reading and completing comprehension exercises with a grade 2 student who was performing below grade level. I acted as a role model and mentor, showing the young student that reading was important. Though my involvement with this organization and with early childhood literacy ended upon my high school graduation, my time as a teen mentor inspired an interest in supporting children who struggle with reading. I have additional experience with young students as a grade 3 classroom assistant. With young students and with my current English as a second language students, I have learned to adapt my speaking style -- speed, word choice, and sentence

During our sessions, I endeavored to help her understand her course material, instill good study habits, and increase her overall motivation. She often missed our sessions and we did not seem to make much progress. Frankly, I felt discouraged. Looking back, I recognize that my inability to inspire momentous change in the academic success of this student reflects poorly not on my capabilities or her intelligence, but on a school system that had continuously failed to offer much-needed additional support to students. I look at the research used by The Literacy Lab to inform its practices with great optimism. Knowing that my year of service can turn into a lifetime of increased opportunities for success for these young students greatly motivates me to take on the challenges presented by working in a high-need community. I also believe that through my experience living abroad, I have gained a high level of cultural sensitivity that would be a significant asset as a Literacy