Making a Difference

“I like that I’m making a difference through this organization and that we’re connecting the students to the tools that will be make them be better citizens.”

Jacqueline West, Internship Supervisor

This was the answer I received when I asked Jackie what she enjoyed most about her work as the Mentoring Coordinator for Bull City YouthBuild which is a program offered by the Triangle Literacy Council (TLC). My internship will be with TLC which supports adults, youth and families by providing basic literacy instruction and life skills.

My focus area for the Fall will be on a program called Bull City YouthBuild which is a full-time 9-month program that helps young adults prepare to earn their high school equivalency diploma while also partnering with Habitat for Humanity in Durham to construct low-income housing in the area. The idea is that while participants are working on developing their literacy skills, they will also have the opportunity to develop skills that will be useful as they pursue a profession.

I had never heard of this program before and discovered that YouthBuild is an international program that is funded through grants from the Department of Labor. There are currently over 225 YouthBuild programs in the US that are constructing affordable housing throughout low income communities. Along the way participants engage in community service and receive tutoring to either strengthen their literacy skills or pursue their General Education Development (GED) certificate.

During the Fall, students will focus on prepping for the Reasoning Through Language Arts section which they will be taking in mid-November. The first step of the tutoring program is for students to take a quick assessment to identify any areas of weakness and then customize a plan as much as possible to help them be prepared for the first section of a 4-section exam.

I will be working on plugging in the initial training for the tutors into Blackboard which is the first year they’ve done this. What used to happen in person will have to pivot to virtual due to COVID-19 but the benefit is that this module will be made available in the future.