Faith began working at RE in the fall of 2019. As Program Director, she participates in training staff, organizing workshops for kids, and hosting orientations for parents. She previously worked as a teacher in public/charter schools.
“I felt limited in the support I could offer students,” she says. “I wanted to provide holistic support to Black and Brown students at an organization founded and run by Black women.”
As a teacher, she assisted native Spanish speakers in language development, helping them catch up to their English speaking classmates. At RE, she’s put that experience to work, using her Spanish to help disadvantaged students overcome obstacles to their success.
During the pandemic, she was able to develop a close relationship with one Spanish speaking family by meeting with their daughter and assisting with her schoolwork. Eventually, she was able to communicate with the parents and connect them to a partner organization that provided the family with rent assistance and ultimately prevented them from being evicted.
For Faith, holistic support isn’t just about tutoring; it’s about long-term relationships built on trust and genuine care.
One of her proudest moments was helping one of our students apply to the Bonner Program, a community service scholarship for college students. Faith herself was a Bonner Scholar, and it was powerful to see her impact come full circle in that way.
Faith says that the ability to hold youth to high standards while remaining empathetic is key to success in any role at RE. “Empathy,” she says, “is a muscle you have to develop.”
We’re grateful for people like Faith who put all of their skills to work on behalf of our students. The most important of those skills is empathy.