Volunteer Spotlight: Margrit S
This month we are thrilled to feature Margrit as our Volunteer Spotlight. Margrit is one of our highly valued tutors that form the backbone of our mission at Literacy Source. Volunteering since 2017 (over 785 hours) she has quietly persevered with 4 different higher-level students helping them with writing and ESOL skills. We are so grateful for her support, commitment to learning, and continued dedication!
1. Where are you originally from? If you’re not from Seattle what brought you here?
I was born in California, but at the age of nine my parents decided to move back to Switzerland, their country of origin. After obtaining my university degree my husband and I came to the US with the intension to stay for 2-3 years. The stay turned out to be permanent when we both got jobs at the University of Washington after two years in California.
2. Please share something of your life so far and what you would like to do in the future.
I was a research scientist in biology at the UW for many years. After retirement I needed structure in my life and looked around for some meaningful volunteering. Though very different from my professional training I decided to volunteer at LS as a tutor. I also love to read and this drives me to want to pass this passion on to others.
3. Why did you choose to volunteer at LS?
At LS many students, women in particular, have had no or little formal education. For some the concept of the written word is new. It is hard to comprehend how difficult life must be in our society which is so focussed on being able to read. As a child I was dropped into my third grade class in Switzerland where I did not know the language and for a while I was struggling. So I have some understanding of how adult English learners might feel taking classes at LS. I hope that with tutoring I can be of help.
4. What do you like about volunteering at LS?
Helping my student and seeing her making progress is very satisfying and knowing how grateful she is for the time I spend with her. What I get back from her is companionship, learning about her culture, her family, and which vegetables she grows.
I also want to add that the staff at LS is friendly and extremely helpful, and the tutor workshops help us grow to become better teachers.
5. Any stories or highlights from volunteering at LS?
It always brings me joy when my student realizes that she has made a mistake and is able to correct it by herself. It is so rewarding to see her progress.
6. What might people not know about you?
I have always enjoyed art and now as a retiree I have more time to pursue my love of painting. I also find pleasure in hiking, cross-country skiing and gardening.
Here is what Erik Boedlander, ESOL 4-5 Instructional Advisory, had to say about Margrit:
Margrit has been helping my student Rahima for many quarters now. Through her dedication, I have seen a clear improvement in Rahima's reading and writing. As a matter of fact, her CASAS reading level jumped from a 3 to a 4 at the end of the fall quarter. Also, her reading during class is much more polished and natural. Rahima is starting to read chunks of sentences as opposed to reading just each word. In other words, her reading fluency has improved dramatically. This is in no small part due to Margrit's continual work with Rahima, so a big thank you to Margrit in making a big difference in one of our student's lives at Literacy Source.