College and Major: Southwestern University, History major
Tutor Site: Willow Street
Clubs: 4Cs of STEM and Puzzles and Strategies
Favorite Childhood Book: The Simon and Schuster Book of Greek Gods and Heroes” by Alice Low
I was so excited when I found out I’d be working with New Haven Reads through Yale’s President’s Public Service Fellowship this summer. I’ve been volunteering as a tutor with New Haven Reads since 2025, and I think it’s such an important and impactful organization. I already knew that it provides a crucial bridge between local public education gaps and grade-level literacy expectations, but seeing the work firsthand every day is really inspirational.
Being able to participate here has provided me with so many rewarding experiences. Working with kids and seeing them develop their reading skills over time is a real joy: you see how it improves their confidence, their self esteem, and how it immediately elevates their overall happiness. I’ve really enjoyed the tutoring sessions, particularly being able to see the same children incrementally improve over time and grow more confident in their reading skills.
During the New Haven Reads summer camp, I’m running a club for the kids that introduces them to STEM concepts, as well as how we can use our critical thinking skills to understand STEM subjects. During one session, we talked about the solar system, the planets, how a planet is different than a star, and how big all of the planets are. Then we moved to a 40-foot area in the classroom and used a small model of each planet to physically space out the real distance between them, demonstrating how far away each planet actually is from the sun. The kids were shocked to see that the first four planets only took up the first two feet of the model! They were really surprised and fascinated to see how just much space is in outer space. I had so much fun interacting with them during this event. By the end of the session, they were explaining to me that Uranus and Neptune (the “ice giants”) were icy because they were so far away from the sun. It’s such a great feeling to watch young people make a connection like that. I’m so thankful I’ve been able to participate in this program.
