When and why did you first start volunteering with NHR?
I started volunteering this past summer because I love to teach and couldn’t think of a more important skill to help teach than reading, which is such a fundamental and important skill in all areas of life. I also love to be around kids, and New Haven Reads is a great place to meet some amazing kids.
What keeps you coming back?
I think seeing the progress made by my students and their willingness to learn keeps me coming back. It is amazing to see how bright the students are and how quickly they pick things up. I also love the enthusiasm for reading that my students possess. Caleb immediately grabs a book when he arrives, even before our session starts, and immediately begins reading. He even sometimes wants to use part of choice time to read! Both of my students are also incredible at games-I thought I was a good chess player until I played Mathias!
What is your favorite book? As a child and now?
As a child, my favorite books were the Magic Tree House series. I loved how they transported you across time to every corner of the world and allowed learning history to feel like an adventure! Now, my favorite book is Moneyball by Michael Lewis, which details how a baseball team used statistics to build a winning team despite not having the resources of other teams. I love math and sports, and this book was a great way to see how the two can come together.
