“What are you doing after graduation?” This one question kept bothering me during my senior year of college, mainly since I couldn’t give my friends and family a concrete answer for the longest time. I wanted to do something right out of college that would let me make a difference in my community while earning valuable career experience.
Minnesota Reading Corps is a research-based AmeriCorps program targeted at Minnesota students from age 3 through third grade with the goal of helping ensure all Minnesota children are on track to reading proficiency by the end of third grade. I work one-on-one daily with my students, monitor their progress weekly and have a file full of graphs to show their growth that I can share with their teachers. It’s inspiring to see the number of letter sounds or words they can read in a minute increasing each week.
I can honestly say that I love what I do and look forward to serving at my site every day. Minnesota Reading Corps is a great opportunity to give back to my community. My school is very engaged with our community, sponsoring math and fitness nights, grocery distributions and other events such as our annual Hmong New Year celebration. By getting involved and helping out with these events, as well as other community service events, I am able to help engage parents in their child’s education and connect with my students outside the classroom, something that I really have come to love. It’s great knowing that I’m able to give back to my community and that my service has more impact than just the hours I spend in school with the kids. To learn more, visit www.MinnesotaReadingCorps.org or www.MinnesotaMathCorps.org.
Kate Ryan, St. Anthony Park
