April 29, 2009 - Brandi Abrams Makes Her Mark as Liason For America Reads at GESA few short years ago, scheduling reading tutors at Granville Elementary School was sometimes a hit-and-miss proposition.
Not any more.
As Denison University senior Brandi Abrams graduates this year, she leaves behind a legacy of growth and reliability as the America Reads program liaison between DU's John W. Alford Center for Service Learning and GES.
Some 120 students have benefited from her work this year, GES teachers estimate.
Abrams, a women's studies major with a concentration in nursing, was one of two winners of the Kussmaul Award given annually by the Granville Area Chamber of Commerce to DU students who make an impact on the Granville community.
Abrams agreed to become the America Reads liaison at the start of her junior year, she said, after being at tutor at Granville Elementary and in Newark.
"She's somebody we'd like to have come back and work in our community," summarized Denise Ciferno, a Title I reading teacher at GES.
America Reads is a federal work-study program for college students hired to tutor elementary students in reading skills on a weekly basis. Abrams' job has been to introduce and re-introduce the program to new and continuing GES teachers at the start of each school year. She then places and schedules tutors with students the teachers have identified as needing additional reading support or practice.
"It helps the teachers because there are a lot of students who struggle with reading or who are not exposed to reading enough at home," Abrams said.
Tutors are apprised of the kinds of work students need based on information from their teachers, whether it be sounding out words, pronunciation, fluency, putting words together or focus on difficult words, Abrams said.
"The children look forward to this," Ciferno said. "It's not seen as work when they work with the tutors. It's a big deal for them."
Ciferno and GES Principal Todd Rogers said that the tutors help fill in where teachers simply run out of time.
"They fill a great void," Rogers said.
"They're touching a lot of students," Ciferno added.
Ciferno described Abrams as a "glowing personality who is willing to try anything" who has brought the tutoring program to a new level.
"She's got good communication skills, a great work ethic. She's done everything we've asked her to do," she said.
"Brandi makes everyone feel comfortable just with her overwhelming personality," said Michele Doran, DU's America Reads/ School Based Programs coordinator, describing her as "phenomenal in getting organized and building relationships between student tutors, teachers, and with university."
There have been benefits for Abrams, too.
"For me, it's the joy of coming down to Granville with the ability to help a student," she said, "just the joy of seeing the progress I'm helping the students to make."
The experience also was refreshing for her as a big-city kid (she grew up in Chicago), getting to know off-campus personalities such as the mailman, in addition to people at the school.
"I just really enjoy working in the Granville community," she said. "It's encouraging for a college student, especially from a big city. In a big city, you don't get that all the time."
On campus, Abrams held a leadership post in the Black Student Union and was a student facilitator for QUEST, a program helping college sophomores stay focused on academics and their careers. This year, she also led an alternative spring break trip to Atlanta where students assisted HIV/AIDS victims and helped sort and package surplus medical supplies for shipment to health clinics in developing countries.
Accepting
the award, Fondessy said, “While at Denison, volunteering has been a
crucial part of my life, and it is rewarding to be recognized for all
of the hours I have completed. I am happy that as a college student, I
have been recognized for making a difference in the community.”