As a lifelong resident of the Peninsula and a student of our public schools, I was excited to participate with Dialog to Learn and thrilled when I received my first email from my digital buddy Teresa. The first thing I noticed was the lack of space in her email to differentiate between thoughts and ideas. There were a few misspelled words too. I wrote back separating every new subject with a line break and obsessively spell checked my own writing. The next email arrived — no line breaks but accurate comma usage. I never drew her attention to any of the inaccuracies I found in her earlier emails. My role was to be an adult who was interested in what she had to say, ask questions about who she was and model proper communication style and language.

While I was drawn to volunteering with Dialog to Learn because of the focus on literacy and community, emailing with Teresa became a treat to my week rather than a volunteer commitment. Learning about her Halloween costume and how much candy she got (two bags!), as well as her love of travel was refreshing and fun after a day of work. I enjoyed getting to know what she was interested in and thinking of other things she might like to introduce her to in our next email.

After corresponding with Teresa for five weeks I was very excited to finally meet her in person at the recent career day event hosted by Dialog to Learn and the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula. Though Teresa seemed initially shy, she was increasingly talkative and inquisitive, frequently injecting comments into the group supporting what her friends were saying. We talked about my job and what I do on a day-to-day basis.

Dialog to Learn Volunteers (Photo by Caitlin Wolf)

After meeting in small groups with our buddies, the volunteers sat down to field questions from the students. They inquired on a wide range of topics, wanting to know what our favorite food is (mango), if what we studied in college matched what our job is now (not even close), if we still use what we learned in elementary school in our jobs (yes, most definitely yes). Luanda, a volunteer from Facebook, pointed out that you learn how to get along with people in elementary school and that she uses those skills everyday in her job as a recruiter.

Speaking with Theobald-van Gent after the event wrapped up she said that while some students may have seemed antsy, she had “never seen them more engaged.” In reflecting on the mission of Dialog to Learn, she characterized it as “improving students’ literacy while strengthening our communities.”

The last minute scramble to get a group picture before we had to leave! (Photo by Caitlin Wolf)

After meeting Teresa, the other students, and the volunteers I am more committed than ever to helping Dialog to Learn succeed. I have already signed up for the next cycle!