Volunteering for my department, field, and community has contributed greatly to my emotional-intellectual health and my ability to be a knowledgeable and informed colleague and community member. Leaving out the volunteering on committees and assessment procedures, at conferences, and other commitments, I highlight here just a handful of recent volunteering endeavors and causes that I support. I hope that my small but helpful involvements inspire you to find a way in your busy schedule to give of your knowledge and talents.

 

Service to the field of applied linguistics

 

June 2009 –   English teacher educator and curriculum designer, partnering with a Nicaraguan NGO and other 

Present             Nicaraguan educational institutions to work with English teachers in rural, low-income

                           communities. Activities include workshops, teaching, co-teaching, and mentorship in face-to-face 

                           and online interactions

 

Service to San José State University Department of English and Comparative Literature

 

Aug. 2011 –    Coordinator, Parent University, San José Area Writing Project, San José, California.

Nov. 2013       I independently designed and led monthly workshops for parents of children in K-12 to learn

                          meaningful ways of engaging their children in reading and writing. The program is part of a larger

                          initiative that delivers year-round writing activities for K-12 teachers and students. Initiatives like

                          SJAWP connect university to community and I am privileged to have gotten to work with the late Dr.

                          Jonathan Lovell, former Director, and Dr. Mary Warner, Director.

 

Service to University of California, Davis Department of Linguistics

 

Aug. 2009  –   Volunteer Transcriber, Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas,

Dec. 2009        University of California, Davis. I transcribed audio recordings of former detainees of Guantánamo

                           Bay prison for the Guantánamo Testimonials Project, directed by Dr. Almerindo Ojeda, which

                           documents cases of human rights violations against prisoners.

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Service to the Community

 

Jan. 2020 –      High school tutor for Refugee and Immigrant Transitions, Oakland, Calif. I am an after-school tutor

Present               for Spanish-speaking minors from Central America. Due to COVID-19, tutoring currently occurs

                            online, where I not only assist with math, science, and English, but also digital literacy.

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Aug. 2016 –      Volunteer for the Oaks Assisted Living Facility, Pleasant Gap, Penn.

Aug. 2019          I ran the book club and story-telling club to help senior citizens continue to feel engaged with print

                            and oral literacy, as well as stimulate memory and feelings of inclusion.

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Causes

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Fabretto Foundation Child Sponsorship: https://fabretto.org/sponsor-a-child-page/

Having volunteered for Fabretto, one of Nicaragua's oldest and most responsible NGOs, over the last decade, I was inspired by other colleagues who began sponsoring a child. I have sponsored a child for the last six years, and because of my recurrent travels to Nicaragua, have gotten to meet him. My support goes to funding educational and basic needs, and I hear from him a couple of times a year in the form of a letter, pictures, and drawings. 

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A-T Children's Project: https://www.atcp.org/

Ataxia Telengiectasia is a rare and fatal genetic disorder that atrophies the body and brain, as well as affects the immune system in similar ways that cancer does. Many who have A-T will in fact get cancer. My little brother Nick was born with A-T, and I have raised money by running half-marathons and by other means throughout the years in order to fund research for a cure. 

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