Posts Tagged ‘intern’

Name: Margo Pedersen
Hometown: New Haven, CT
College and Major: Amherst College, Education Studies and Sociology
Tutoring Site: Bristol Street
Clubs: Finance 101 and Arts and Crafts
Favorite Childhood Book(s): Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech

Growing up in New Haven, New Haven Reads was something of a household name. I’ve had friends who were students here, friends who volunteered here, even friends who interned here. As an intern this summer, it’s finally my turn to join the New Haven Reads community, and I’m grateful to be able to play a small part in the organization’s dedicated service to the city.

I have loved my internship experience so far. At the beginning of every tutoring hour, a new group of students floods into the back room at Bristol Street, bringing excitement, nerves, and a healthy dose of chaotic energy into the space. With the support of dedicated staff and volunteers, everyone settles into their tutoring session or club, and the hour of learning begins. Each student has their own personality, interests, strengths, and a way of seeing the world that is entirely unique. I’m excited to be able to work with so many different students, and I feel I am learning as much from them as they are from me.

Though I’ve only been here for three short weeks, my highlight has been leading the Finance 101 club. When I was given this assignment at the beginning of the summer, I was a little nervous. I’m still learning finance myself–how could I possibly teach it to middle schoolers? But with plenty of support from my site staff and fellow intern, and a great group of kids, I soon learned that personal finance could actually be pretty fun. We’re working together on a real-world personal finance simulation, where students earn “paychecks,” pay bills, make purchases, and learn how to save their money to meet group and individual savings goals. The students have plenty of their own experiences and insights about money to share, and I love hearing what they have to say. For example, this week, we had a very spirited discussion about budgeting, where students debated whether certain purchases were needs, wants, or items for savings. “If you have a pet hamster, is hamster food a need or a want?” I asked them. “A need!” most responded, except for one student: “A want!” he said. “Because why did you need to buy a hamster in the first place?”

Whether I’m cashing checks with middle schoolers, helping students in Arts and Crafts club make their own beaded bracelets, or reading Elephant and Piggie in the silliest voice I can muster during the tutoring hour, it is always an honor to watch students’ confidence and skills blossom in such a warm, welcoming environment. I’m grateful to the New Haven Reads staff for their support and to the KeyBank Foundation for this incredible internship opportunity. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the summer!

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Name: Lizz Ladd
Hometown: West Hartford, CT
College and Major: Loyola Marymount University, BA Recording Arts
Tutor Site: Willow
Clubs: Math Club, Performing Arts Club
Favorite Childhood Book: Good Dog, Carl


I first learned about New Haven Reads during a gap year serving with AmeriCorps. I came to the book bank to get books for the school I was serving at and I fell in love with the work of New Haven Reads. When I heard about the internship program, I knew that I wanted to be involved.

Interning this summer has taught me about youth and education through a nonprofit lens.
I’ve learned about the many ways that New Haven Reads supports the community and shares the joy and power of reading. I love how New Haven Reads is student-centered and that each staff member is committed to doing everything possible to ensure that the kids receive an excellent literacy education and receive the support that they need to be successful readers. It’s incredible how dedicated they are to serving the New Haven community.

One program that I’ve become involved in is the math club. A staff member was telling me that a few summers ago, parents were asking for math support for their kids in addition to literacy support. Since New Haven Reads is always looking for ways to better serve families, the interns were asked to facilitate summer math programing. Twice a week, my volunteer helpers and I meet with students ranging from 2nd grade to 7th grade and work with them on different math skills. It has been a great experience to help students feel confident solving math problems and a great way to reinforce our students’ math skills before they return to school in the fall.

I’ll never forget the first student I tutored here. When my student, a little first grader,
arrived at Willow, I learned that it was her first time here. She was a little shy at first, but once
we got into our tutoring hour she began to loosen up more. About halfway through our session,
she turned to me and said, “I love this place!” My heart melted!

I’m so grateful to KeyBank for the opportunity to be a part of New Haven Reads this summer and work with such incredible students. Thanks to this opportunity, I have been offered the position of Assistant Site Director at Willow following the end of the internship program. I’m so excited that this internship brought me to New Haven Reads and that I have the opportunity to continue supporting this wonderful organization and their students moving forward.

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Name: Owen Lamothe
Hometown: Hamden,  CT 
College and Major: Middlebury College, Arabic and International Politics and Economics 
Tutoring Site: Bristol Street
Clubs: Chess and Math
Favorite Childhood Book: Goosebumps Series by R.L. Stine

When I first walked into the Bristol Street site on January 31st, 2019, to interview as part of the process to be a tutor, I would never have expected that I would have the opportunity 3 years later to experience all that New Haven Reads has to offer. I was a busy high school freshman who could only come into tutor 1 hour a week, and for that small window of time, I always took the chance to observe the staff, tutors, students, parents, and everyone in between all coming together to learn and have a blast while doing it. This feeling remained constant throughout my three years at Willow Street. When I found out about the KeyBank Summer Intern position, I jumped at the chance to join the community in a larger role.

My favorite part of the summer so far has been leading and helping with the Bristol Street summer clubs. New Haven Reads is a community of learners, no matter what role everyone plays. When I lead the chess club, I’m surrounded by eager chess students and volunteer helpers that bring a lot of chess experience to the club. Every meeting people meet each other where they’re at and we have so much fun playing chess, getting to know each other through icebreakers, and beating the heat inside at the chessboard. As someone who is passionate about language learning, I had a really meaningful day on July 20th, when I had to put my Arabic skills to the test to help translate information about the Vision to Learn program. In moments like these, being a KeyBank Intern at New Haven Reads allows me to interact with many members of the amazing greater-New Haven community and for that I am extremely grateful.

It is amazing to be back in-person with New Haven Reads this summer! Every day when I walk into the Bristol Street site I can sense the same sense of enthusiasm amongst everyone there. I am so lucky to be able to dive deeper into this community and help support our students in having a fun and productive summer. Thank you to the entire New Haven Reads organization and community for this opportunity. I also sincerely appreciate KeyBank for this internship opportunity. Thank you and have a great rest of the summer!

 

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Name: Sebastian Ward
Hometown: New Haven, CT
College and Major: Yale University, Undecided
Tutor Site: Bristol Street
Clubs: Chess, Arts and Crafts (Helper), Nature and Science (Helper)
Favorite Childhood Book: The Percy Jackson Series

Working with students at New Haven Reads feels so surreal to me. It feels like I was just a student here; being shy around a new tutor or feeling a little embarrassed each time I struggled with a new page of Explode the Code. No longer the student and now being the teacher I used to look up to whenever I needed help feels strange, but in a good way. It is now my responsibility to give help to the students when they need it, foster a safe and encouraging learning environment, and most importantly, connect with the students I work with to make sure they learn and grow. Fulfilling these duties is always a heartwarming experience each time I am in a session- whether as a tutor, club leader, or even club helper. 

This summer I have had so many good experiences with different students that I had trouble picking one to talk about. I had great conversations with students while making slime as a helper for the Arts and Crafts club. I also had so much fun playing a chess game on kahoot and getting a summary of the 9th and 10th Diary of a Wimpy Kid books so I could follow along while my student read the 11th one during reading time was an experience I definitely needed (I doubt I’ll ever reach an age where I am uninterested by the adventures of the Heffley family!). However, the most poignant experience I’ve had this summer was during an online tutoring session. Coming home after a day at camp where you run around and play to having to do a tutoring session for reading can seem not-too-appealing at first (I’ve been there). That was what was going on with my student, so I thought that starting the session with a fun activity would be beneficial. We opened with a word scramble, where we both competed to create as many words as we could within 1 minute with seven random letters. The student really enjoyed it, continued working diligently throughout the session, and even requested that we did it during choice time. 

My summer at New Haven Reads so far has been an encouraging and fun learning environment  for my students. My site staff and fellow interns have been extremely kind, genuine, and supportive to me throughout my time here. I have believed in the mission of New Haven Reads since I was a student there, and my time as an intern has only strengthened my resolve to assist in seeing it through.

A special thank you to First Niagara Foundation in partnership with KeyBank for giving me this amazing opportunity.

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We at New Haven Reads have always felt that connecting with our community is crucial to our mission. For us to succeed as an organization, other organizations must also succeed, because only through working together can we truly create long-lasting positive change for the entire New Haven community. To that end, we partner with several schools and organizations every year to further our mission. For several years now, we have worked closely with the University of New Haven. 

“Through the Community Work Study Program, we have 5 to 8 interns join our team every semester, with most of them staying for a full year or even longer,” explained Natosha Wengreen, the Outreach Director at New Haven Reads. 

However, the CWS Program only accounts for a portion of the interns from the University of New Haven. University of New Haven Professor Allison Geballe has long been responsible for the other portion. She teaches PSYC 4480, “Psychology Internship,” a course for which students are matched with internships at local organizations that fit their goals and interests. 

It would be hard to overstate the impact of this course on New Haven Reads over the years. In fact, two current staff members — Eimanuelle (Emma) Pendon and Aimee Curtis-Travaglini, the Assistant Site Director at Dixwell and Site Director at Bristol Street, respectively — originally came to New Haven Reads as interns from Professor Geballe’s course.

Geballe discussed the structure of the program, saying, “I partner with community, clinical, or research-based organizations for the course. After hearing about what they are looking for in their interns and what roles might be possible, I interview my students and get a sense of what sites might be the best match for them. I then encourage them to apply to the best fit, and the student goes on to interview with that organization.”

She explained that in order to recommend that a student seek an internship at New Haven Reads, a few criteria have to be met: they must have an interest in working with younger students, they should ideally have some prior experience working with children, other nonprofits, or schools, and they should be following a path that relates, even if indirectly, to the organization’s work and mission.

Although she partners with many organizations for the course, Geballe has a special connection to New Haven Reads. As a long-time supporter of New Haven Reads, she lauded the work and the mission of the organization. “I really can’t say enough about the important work that New Haven Reads does,” Geballe said. “Having worked with kids for 20 years, I know that it can be very challenging for them in school, so having the support system and individual attention that New Haven Reads provides outside of school can really help promote their development and learning.”

But New Haven Reads, Geballe feels, not only provides this important individual attention for students, but does so in a truly effective way. “I think New Haven Reads does it in a way that is appealing and fun for kids, and they look forward to that one-on-one interaction with their tutors,” she explained. “Yet it also functions as a support system for families, working with them to meet their needs. The impact that New Haven Reads has had on the youth in the community is amazing.”

When we have the opportunity to partner with organizations and schools in New Haven, we are always extremely excited to see what we can do together. The UNH-NHR partnership shows just how impactful these collaborations can be. NHR benefits from the phenomenal work of UNH interns every semester, and the interns get an inside look at what a future in the nonprofit or education spheres could look like.

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Often, the only thing that many tutors and interns at New Haven Reads have in common is an enormous heart, a love of reading, and a dedication to helping others. Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess where they are from, how they found out about the program, what led them to working with young students, and any other personal details. We cherish this diversity of passions, experiences, and personality, and we are continually surprised at the awe-inspiring individuals that join us to help our students.

Piper O’Keefe, an Education Department Intern, continues to amaze us with her depth of experiences and with her drive for helping our organization. Now a graduate student at Yale, Piper graduated from Gettysburg College in 2017 certain that she wanted to give back to others. While studying abroad in Germany and Rwanda, she realized that spending extended time in other countries provides an invaluable perspective. 

“You just learn so many new things while living in different areas, and you connect with people you absolutely would not have met otherwise,” Piper explained. 

Combining this desire for more time abroad with her dedication to create change in the world, Piper decided to join the Peace Corps. 

In the Peace Corps, she taught English in a rural high school in Sierra Leone. After returning to the United States, she received the Coverdell Fellowship, a program for returning Peace Corps Volunteers who wish to continue their service to underserved communities during graduate school.

After reflecting on how much she enjoyed her time teaching English in Sierra Leone, deciding how to continue her service while at Yale couldn’t have been easier.

“New Haven Reads seemed like a perfect chance to apply what I learned in Sierra Leone, and it allowed me to continue working with students during tutoring sessions,” Piper shared.

At New Haven Reads, she supports five students each week through individual tutoring sessions and assists the Education Department with various literacy projects.

Although the differences between the two experiences are clear — a full classroom versus one-on-one sessions, for starters — Piper cherishes her time at New Haven Reads, noting the similarities between her service abroad and in New Haven. 

“With teaching you realize how similar students are, no matter what country you’re in,” Piper said. “The same methods to get my students excited in Sierra Leone, I can use with my students here. The same look you can see in a student’s eye when they have a book they love, it’s the same look here as in Sierra Leone. It’s really exciting.”

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