My Success Story by Pam

My Achievements In Literacy

I became involved with the literacy program at the Learning Centre for Georgina in November 1997. The Centre was just around the corner from my place. I walked into the Centre and told them that I wanted to improve my math and English skills. So I asked if I could be tutored in these subjects. So they gave me a skills assessment and I started meeting weekly with my tutor at the Centre.

About a year later I volunteered to be on the Board of Directors for the Learning Centre. I am still on the Board as the student representative. As a member of the Board I volunteer at the Learning Centre and United Way events, go to Board meetings, vote regarding types of fundraising events, assess purchases of learning tools and materials for the centre, and help decide how the Centre is run.

My main motivation for improving my literacy skills is to become an animal care worker. When I started, I had limited skills to put on my resume. Last year I created my own resume and had some new skills to put in it. I am also motivated because I would like to be stable and confident in myself.

My first tutor helped me with both math and English for about a year. Then I changed tutors because I wanted to focus on math. The new tutor taught me basic math skills and algebra. After several months I decided to concentrate on general English skills. At this time I got my third tutor. We concentrated on reading text with challenging words, writing letters, spelling and reading comprehension.

The positive effects of the literacy program to me have been that I am more comfortable with general reading, writing, and studying. I find it easier to read and understand more of the words in my Biology text. Also I write longer emails to friends. I learned a lot about computers and understand more about them.

The community has given me assistance through the Learnng Centre, and I wanted to give something back to the community. My contribution is volunteering at the Learning Centre and United Way events. Because of my volunteer work and better social life I get along more with my parents than I did before and I help out more.

My personal challenges include getting a job that I want, test taking and understanding my Biology textbooks. Last fall I got a part-time temporary job at a retail store. I am currently looking for a job related to animal care. I am slowly making progress in taking tests more confidently. When studying my Biology textbooks, I am starting to understand more of the words and the main concepts.

The most important benefits of improving my literacy skills have been: getting along better with family, socializing more, understanding more of Biology itself, and defining the steps I need to take to get into my desired career as an animal care worker.

I feel better about myself now, and its hard to think where I might be without the Learning Centre for Georgina.

Thanks, Pam.

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