This month we are recognizing the Pathways Project volunteers! This is a very special group of volunteers that answered a uniquely specific call for a brand new program with high school students in Quinn Strassel’s radio and television production class at the Pathways to Success Academic Campus in Ann Arbor. Students selected topics of interest to them and conducted interviews with experts in these fields. We needed professionals with expertise that spanned from horror films to beauty, cars to K-Pop, natural healing to jewelry making, video gaming to hip hop. In addition to seeking experts in these fields, we also put out a call for volunteers with audio, video, and podcasting experience. Let’s just say it was a pretty robust call for help!
We got very enthusiastic responses from passionate people all over the country (thanks to the virtual nature of our program) who offered to connect us with interviewees, work with students, and/or serve on an Audio/Video Creative Content Panel. Together they made an all-star team.
Every week, program volunteers Rich Retyi, Brian Cook, Sam Wong, Bill Walker, Mary Clare Fischer, Sofiia Koval, Danny Creech, Justin Schell, Charlotte Moore, and Pat Gold connected on Zoom with students. During these sessions students and volunteers talked about their passions and interests going deep with things that matter to them all. The openness and vulnerability felt unparalleled because they were connecting so deeply about something they cared about. Together students and volunteers crafted interview questions, conducted interviews with volunteers by students’ sides virtually, and then they debriefed the experience
In addition to being expertly qualified, these volunteers are also brave. They jumped into something that was actively evolving. Because it was a very small group of students at Pathways and a tight group of volunteers, the feedback volunteers gave each session really shaped the program in a way that was meaningful to students and their teacher. Volunteers were patient with all of the challenges of working virtually with students who were attending class in person. They dealt with snow days, fire drills, and lots of shuffling to accommodate what the program needed. This amazing group of volunteers was flexible and understanding and willing to change their plans to be able to work with the students.
We also want to extend a special thank you to these important people who gave their time and expertise in interviews! You’ll learn more about their work in the coming months.
| Kimberly Hamilton | Narrative Director at Jam City, a Los Angeles-based game developer |
| Spencer Hall | Sports writer, interviewee |
| Bill Walker | Chicago-based film maker, interviewee |
| Sharonda Purnell | Ypsilanti-based Founder of Cocoa Healing Collective |
| Prodby Bert | Detroit-based Music Producer, Interviewee |
| Dan McLean | Michigan-based Calibration Engineer for GM |
Thank you also to our friends Jeremy Peters, Sam Valenti, Cambrey Thomas, and Suai Kee for connecting us with interviewees and for giving our program so much possibility for connection. Thank you to our special guests on the Audio/Video Creative Content Panel, Courtney W. Randolph, Cary Junior II, David Leins, and Zak Rosen for your enthusiasm, advice, and expertise as we launched this program. Thank you to our program support and evaluation team Amelia Popowics and Sarah Allen for creating structures to collect feedback in a meaningful way. Thank you to our tireless program supporters Amy Peterson and Melissa Lekus for supporting the program and for being available for interviews. Thank you to 826 National for connecting us with volunteers and interviewees.
We’re still working on this project with students and will be able to release the videos at the end of the semester. Stay tuned!
Now here’s a little bit more about our Pathways Program Volunteer Crew:
Bill Walker
Tell the world a little bit about your 826 volunteering so far: An unprecedented amount of free time-turned-enthusiastic volunteer shifts! I volunteered during a lull in my workload out of curiosity, but now I love being a part of the 826 volunteer crew and can’t wait to help out more! I loved committing to the Pathways to Success programming because I got to watch the students get comfortable and invite us in more to witness their creative processes. Hooray vulnerability in creativity!
Strategy for surviving the robot apocalypse
Glitter bombs and a whole lot of ball bearings
Favorite Book
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Words of Wisdom for 826michigan Volunteers
Embrace the depth and breadth of these writers. You will encounter joy and humor just as soon as you will address existential musings, a sense of loss, or urgency. These feelings all belong.
Sofiia Koval
Tell the world a little bit about your 826 volunteering so far: Being a volunteer at 826michigan is the best experience ever! I participated in the Pathways Project and in Writing with Wee-bots. Cannot choose what program is my favorite—love both of them!
Strategy for surviving the robot apocalypse
Distracting socks
Favorite Book
The Thorn Bird by A. Ward and Colleen McCullogh
Words of Wisdom for 826michigan Volunteers
Love the children and be kind. Always.
Justin Schell
Tell the world a little bit about your 826 volunteering so far: I’ve worked on a variety of things from the Pathways program to copy editing to staffing the store, and it’s been a joy doing whatever I can to help.
Strategy for surviving the robot apocalypse
Distracting socks
Favorite Book
Most recent one: The Overstory
Words of Wisdom for 826michigan Volunteers
Always intend your puns!
Mary Clare Fischer
Tell the world a little bit about your 826 volunteering so far: I am new to 826—I’ve done a few trainings and some WeeBots, but the opportunities often don’t align with my work schedule, but I got a special exception from my supervisors to do this Pathways program. I love working with high school students and have a background as a journalist so this project matched up really well with my expertise and passions. My favorite memory so far is watching one of the Pathway students do the interview we’d planned for over several weeks. She was amazing.
Strategy for surviving the robot apocalypse
Conversational fluency in binary code
Favorite Book
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
Words of Wisdom for 826michigan Volunteers
Be prepared to pivot! Between early dismissal for bad weather, fire drills and COVID-19 issues, we often had to reevaluate our plans and come up with innovative solutions to move forward with the project. Shoutout to Catherine and Mr. Strassel, who were calm and poised despite all the setbacks.
Charlotte Moore
Tell the world a little bit about your 826 volunteering so far:
I have been volunteering with 826 since 2017 and have been involved in most projects. However, my favorite is probably field trips, especially CYOA! I love being able to go from start to finish in a short time and getting to be a fun part of kids’ day (that also happens to be educational). Plus, I love all their zany stories. 🙂
Strategy for surviving the robot apocalypse
Conversational fluency in binary code
Favorite Book
I don’t have a favorite, but I just finished reading Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Joaod, and I gave it 5/5 stars, which is rare for me!
Words of Wisdom for 826michigan Volunteers
Schedule more 826 into your life, and have fun! Even though I’m busy, I always try to sign up for certain things (e.g., field trips) because they’re my scheduled dose of fun for the week. Even when I’m super busy and stressed, spending time with 826 cheers me up and makes the rest of my day better.
Pat Gold
Tell the world a little bit about your 826 volunteering so far: Prior to the pandemic, I went into schools at all levels to work with kids one on one on various writing projects. Now, we Zoom, but it’s better than nothing! I look forward to being able to work in person with students again.
Strategy for surviving the robot apocalypse
Distracting socks
Favorite Book
Too many to count! “Lonesome Dove,” “Hamnet,” and Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series rank up there though.
Words of Wisdom for 826michigan Volunteers
Enjoy the delightfulness and creativity of the kids–and the funny secrets they will tell you.
Danny Creech
Tell the world a little bit about your 826 volunteering so far: Working with all of my students have been a blast! You never expect to learn so much about yourself by teaching others, but being there of the Pathways project has made me a better listener, a better problem solver and lastly a better writer. I owe a lot to all the programs I’ve been apart of, but Pathways has a special place in my heart for allowing me to connect with such motivated individuals that I hope to see achieve their dreams in the future. My favorite memory so far is coming into Wee-bots and seeing students excited to work and learn week after week. I love coming into a zoom room of students who are excited to be there, and share and collaborate. Watching their passion of writing is so inspiring as a writer myself.
Strategy for surviving the robot apocalypse
Cowardice and assimilation
Favorite Book
The Odyssey
Words of Wisdom for 826michigan Volunteers
My biggest advice would be to listen! Collaboration is what we are working towards, and your biggest tool will be listening to their story and connecting to who you are talking with.
