February’s Success Story features the duo of ELL learner Cristina and tutor Hannah Dickey.

Cristina Hannah smallerThey have been working together for over a year. Cristina attends Brunswick High School, from which Hannah graduated only a few years ago. As one of our youngest tutoring pairs by combined age, they are a great match. Cristina arrived in the U.S. knowing virtually no English, but working with Hannah she has grown from a shy freshman to a confident sophomore, excelling in her classes and making friends at school. “My teacher showed me new words that I didn’t know about in English,” said Cristina. “Now I can say and talk great with other kids of my generation. And every week we learn about English, it is important to know and learn about new things that exist in our world! We also went to fun places like the Topsham Fair, and we played games about the human body because I said to her that I want to be a doctor in the future. And we learn about the map of our downtown Brunswick, to know about the names of places in the town.” Hannah adds, “tutoring Cristina has been a wonderful experience! I have enjoyed getting to know her and am thankful for the opportunity to support her on this journey. She has done so well studying English; I am continually impressed by her writing and conversational skills. We are both introverted, so conversation in general is not too natural for either of us, but we often connect when we share about our families and culture, or play silly games.” Hannah and Cristina’s partnership is a stellar example of the way tutoring enriches the lives of both student and teacher. Keep following us for more success stories from our tutors throughout the year!