Two Cal Poly juniors were named the January Volunteers of the Month for teaching a language at local elementary schools.
The San Luis Obispo Parks and Recreation Commission awarded Missy Sparks and Addie Virta, who are the coordinators for the Language Outreach and Opportunities for Kids (LOOK) program offered through Student Community Services at Cal Poly. As coordinators, the women assign volunteers to schools and organize lessons. For an hour a week, volunteers teach at after school programs such as Sun ‘N Fun for students in grades first through third and S.T.A.R. for students in grades fourth through sixth. Sparks and Virta both said the recognition was a complete surprise because they had no idea they were even nominated.
“I was so shocked,” Sparks said. “We were just so amazed and thrilled that the city would even honor us this way. It was really nice; we got awards and certificates.”
Sparks and Virta have been members of LOOK since their freshman year and have taught language lessons as a part of the program for a year and a half. A bonus for both of them is seeing the children’s eager reaction when they know an answer or say a phrase correctly.
“They’re really cute because once they warm up to you, they want to like, hold your hand or they want to be the person that stands next to the teacher,” Virta said. “When they actually get it, when the lights go off, they’re just so proud. They’ll go tell their mom like, ‘Hey Mom, guess what I learned today!'”
Virta, who teaches French and wants to join the Peace Corps, said that, aside from loving the language and culture, the reason she volunteers is because she wishes she had been taught another language in elementary school because young minds are like sponges.
“It’s really a great program because it really opens a lot of culture to children that we go and teach something they wouldn’t necessarily be exposed to otherwise,” she said. “To see the enjoyment that they get out of our classes is just amazing. It makes you feel so good to hear them repeat phrases. It’s such an amazing process to be a part of (and) it’s cool to see how far it has progressed over the years.”
Every month, the commission recognizes people in the community who have volunteered various services for the Parks and Recreation Department. Parks and Recreation Director Betsy Kiser said the women were nominated by the children’s services division of the department for serving as “excellent catalysts” for teaching and appreciating diversity.
“We don’t have the depth in our staff to offer programs like this, and by having people in the community like Addie and Missy we are able to provide a very high quality childcare program to the community, and it’s a quality that we couldn’t provide if we didn’t have the outside help,” Kiser said.