Get to Know Our Volunteer Award Winners

Don Doeksen, Hubbs Center, 2,040 hours

"I love volunteering with Hubbs Center because I love working with all the people Hubbs serves, and with all the Hubbs staff who work with everyone to make Hubbs adult education happen. The students are fantastic as they are going the extra mile of extending themselves to enrich their lives through Hubbs education while typically managing very full lives of responsibilities as mothers, daughters, fathers, sons. These students really, really, really WANT to learn. They are a continuous pleasure to work with, and there are Hubbs staff who likewise really really really want to do everything possible to facilitate this! I LOVE it, Hubbs, the students!!!!"

Janet Urbanowicz, Open Door Saint Paul, 1,041 hours

"I love working with adult learners because they are very focused and determined as well as very warm and appreciative. Also, I find their life experiences interesting."

Janet has been volunteering with Open Door Saint Paul since 2012!

Kathleen (Kitty) Megarry, American Indian OIC, 1,360 hours

Meet Ms. Kitty (Kathleen, she prefers we call her Kitty)! We absolutely love her. If we could hire her, we would, believe me, we tried!

Kathleen is very dedicated to our students, and our students enjoy and look forward to working with her every day.

Ken Gilmore, Open Door Saint Paul, 1,338 hours - Award Winner for Volunteer Service Award

"With the direction of the lead teachers, I can have fun volunteering with adult learners. Adult learners make their own decisions about how they will spend their time. In working with them I can feel they want to learn English and I see them show up for hours each day to learn.

"I feel truly appreciated by them for what I know and for my willingness to share. Then I get to feel delighted when each student makes discoveries in English and then is eager to move on to new things. I feel privileged to work with them each day."

Deborah Schedemann, Pre-GED Open Door Minneapolis - Award Winner for Outstanding Volunteer Award 

“The classroom is my happy place because we are all striving to learn. I find the subjects interesting, of course. But more than that, I admire the initiative and resilience of the students. I appreciate the opportunity to facilitate their individual journeys as learners. And I cherish the supportiveness of our community: Natalie, the other volunteers, and the students.”

Marjorie (Margie) Hogan, Pre-GED Open Door Minneapolis - Award Winner for Outstanding Volunteer Award

“I am inspired by the amazing, courageous, and committed students I've met in Literacy Minnesota classes: pre-beginning all the way through pre-GED. For all these years, I leave my classes truly feeling a sense of joy.”

Todd Grant, Pre-GED Open Door Minneapolis - Award Winner for Outstanding Volunteer Award 

“The process of learning seems like magic to me.” 

Victor Wang, Metro South ABE - Award Winner for Outstanding Volunteer Award

"For me particularly, volunteering here is a two-way process. You help others see the value and the growth. And you help yourself see your value and your growth. So it's a two-way education here and that's why I enjoy volunteering here."

Michelle Lamardo, Osseo ABE - Award Winner for Outstanding Volunteer Award

"What I love, and what has inspired me for nearly 10 years as an ABE volunteer, is seeing how students bring real and meaningful purpose to “perseverance and commitment." Supporting them as they work toward their academic goals, so they gain more tools to reach their dreams, is only part of this journey; connecting with them, learning from their stories, celebrating their triumphs and encouraging them as they face obstacles is what truly completes this wonderful life experience."

Bruce Remak, Metro South ABE, 1,180 hours - Award Winner for Volunteer Service Award 

"I enjoy volunteering because the students work so hard and are so appreciative of the volunteer tutors. Day in and day out they display the best of “American values,” trying to better their lives for themselves and their families."

Tom Mouw, Metro South ABE, 1,096 hours - Award Winner for Volunteer Service Award 

"I affirm the mission statement of Metro South Adult Education wholeheartedly, and I believe our efforts genuinely build toward empowering much improved lives. I also affirm the old African proverb, shared with me by a brilliant African woman many years ago, "If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a generation (or household)."* To say it another way, we invest in the students with whom our paths cross so that they might make their best contribution, both to their own families, and to the society in which we all exist together. In the twelve years I've been volunteering, my own life has been greatly enriched by the adult English language learners whom I've had the privilege to help meet their personal goals and aspirations."

Arlene Holdeman, Metro South ABE, 1,147 hours - Award Winner for Volunteer Service Award 

"I began volunteering at Metro South when I retired from teaching English. I began as a classroom aide and have been in the reading lab for many years. I enjoy the contact with adult students from around the world as I use my skills to help them master the difficult language of English."

Bonnie Black, Open Door Minneapolis - Award Winner for Outstanding Volunteer Award 

“I love volunteering with adult learners because I love seeing the progress that gets made when students work consistently. I also love helping students recognize their own progress.”

Mary Henry, Open Door Saint Paul - Award Winner for Outstanding Volunteer Award 

“I admire their persistence and their drive to learn English. They put a lot of time and energy into coming to school, which inspires me."

Scott Dyer, Open Door Minneapolis - Award Winner for Outstanding Volunteer Award

“Teaching in GED is particularly rewarding because the students are very appreciative of the help.” 

Robert ‘Bob’ Wheeler, Open Door Minneapolis - Award Winner for Outstanding Volunteer Award 

“I enjoy explaining science concepts to students. I was a science major and I enjoy learning and teaching about it. It’s good to be well-informed about science.”

Searcy Lillehei, Open Door Minneapolis - Award Winner for Outstanding Volunteer Award 

“Searcy has been volunteering with Literacy Minnesota for more than six years and has served in a variety of programs from ESL, citizenship to pre-GED. Searcy says she loves meeting new people and learning about their lives. Searcy continues to volunteer because she thinks Literacy Minnesota/Open Door Learning Centers offer positive and wonderful programs for the community.”