By Bill Crim
Senior Vice President of Community Impact and Public Policy
UWSL’s collective impact partnerships improve lives for thousands of people – but sometimes the life changing results are not immediately visible. Recently, the collective efforts of individual donors, UWSL and other partner organizations, and a fabulous volunteer with the English Skills Learning Center culminated in changing the life of a new refugee in our community. Cathy Barnhart, Executive Director, shares the following:
“A new student, Que Lu, has been attending class regularly. She happened to be the only student on August 30, and she had an interview for a new job the following day. So, I scrapped my plan for that day and we instead role played for her job interview. Que learned new words such as dependable, focused, detailed, and never (as in never late). I played the boss and we kept rehearsing. The next day, Que had her interview and got the job!!!!!!! I was thrilled to learn that our practice was so important. I also see students helping other students in class a lot more. I think that is great, because they all learn more when they are engaged and feel connected to each other.”
Thanks to everyone whose contributions of “time, talent, and treasure” made this possible!
