Kati Shanks!
Okay, we’ll start with the numbered photo. (First off, we’d like to say, we WISH we were better at PhotoShop. We really, REALLY do.) At any rate, Kati Shanks. She surrounds herself with wonderfulness, all the time (as far as we can tell). For example: 3. Hey! Of COURSE she’s hanging out in a room with a robot picture! 2. Look at that dog! Look at how she’s HOLDING that dog! Listen, we don’t know this dog, but we want to. (Truth be told, based on his face alone, although the fact that he’s apparently close enough with Kati that she carries him around like a baby is a pretty strong recommendation as well.)
AND:
1. KATI SHANKS, herself, the biggest piece of wonderfulness we can, at this very moment, think of.
But don’t take OUR word for it, take the words of the other two members of the Peachy Keens, the intern team of which Kati is a member. (We asked them for little snippets of what was great about Kati. What they sent back tested the very bounds of how long a snippet could be, as you’ll see momentarily.)
From Amy “Curly” Wilson, former Jeopardy! champion:
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! Excellent choice!
I would say that Kati has demonstrated an amazing ability to roll with whatever punches may be thrown at her. At the Community Action Network sites we often have to adjust our lesson plans based on the mood of the students, and Kati has shown herself to be more than capable of dealing with this so well you’d never know it happened! She also makes a mean cilantro-free guacamole and has a wicked sense of humor. The little dry jokes she makes may go right over the heads of some of the students, but they certainly make me smile.
Overall I would say I could not be happier to be working so closely with Kati this summer. She is everything an 826michigan intern should be.
And, from Julie Mattock, educator and worksheet maker:
Yeah! Kati is the perfect choice!! I can’t think of a more deserving person.
Kati is dedicated and hardworking. She’s always willing to lend a hand, and sometimes knows what you need even before you do! Kati’s warmth and compassion really shines when she’s working with the students; she’s a remarkable young woman and an asset to 826michigan.
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
What we WILL say, is that Kati is awesome. She is dedicated, reliable, amazing with our students, quietly hilarious, and helpful in every possible way. She always responds to last-minute demands with calm. She pitches in with whatever whenever she can. She’s done everything from being an integral part of our ELL team to teaching off-site workshops to facilitating workshops here to painting our ceiling tiles to working in the store (with no training at all, we might add) to throwing potlucks to planning to playing dominoes and we’re going to stop now because otherwise we may NEVER stop listing sweet things she does for and with us.
Kati! We love you! You are SUPER great. You are quietly amazing, and we really like that about you. You’re too humble to tell us how fantastic you are, but you’re too fantastic to be able to keep it a secret for long. Please never, ever leave us!