Age: 31
Borough: Bronx
Favorite Book: Bird by Bird
Favorite Movie:
The Count of Monte Cristo
Place I Most Want to Visit: Paris
Person I'd Most Like to Meet:
Suze Orman
Most Important Quality In A Student:
Willingness to make mistakes
“At each step of my career...READ has continued to offer me opportunities to grow.”
What makes read different
As a Teen Leader, I always loved working for READ, but as an adult, I can see how unique the program really is, both for the students and the Teen Leader. I've always liked working with children, so as a Teen Leader it was fun helping kids learn how to read. At the time I didn't realize how important it is to have that skill set, but my time as a Teen Leader sparked a lasting interest in education, and READ's vision to help students catch up to their peers continues to resonate with me.
I also participated in other tutoring programs while I was in high school, but even at the time I knew READ was special. Looking back now, high schoolers on their own aren't qualified as actual teachers. In those other programs without any training, I could connect with the kids but I was mostly guessing at how to actually teach and hoping it was helpful. The difference with READ is they give you a structured curriculum and teach you about the process of how kids learn. So when you work with READ students, their progress is measurable and it’s much more impactful to be able to concretely see the difference you’re making.
A lasting impact
Most Teen Leaders feel like READ helped them to grow and mature, but I feel like I literally grew up with READ. It’s not just that I’ve come full circle from a Teen Leader in the very first after-school program 19 years ago to my role as Evaluation Director today. I’ve also stayed connected to READ every step along the way.
I started tutoring as a 7th grader and kept working with READ throughout the rest of middle school and high school, both after school and in the summers. I was also promoted to a leadership position, and that experience at READ gave me a leg up when I got to college at NYU. I wanted to stay involved in early education, so I applied to the Jumpstart program and was immediately accepted to a leadership position there as well because I already had experience leading my peers through READ.
After college, I came back to READ as a summer intern and coordinated Teen Leader development events with the Associate Board. Then I joined the Associate Board myself! Now as a staff member, I've engaged with READ in almost every way possible. And at each step of my career, from Teen Leader to college student to young professional and now, READ has continued to offer me opportunities to grow.
Connect with Triana on LinkedIn.