Rahul Ganatra!
Rahul Ganatra—in addition to having a great name and a carefully trimmed beard; beyond helping us with any number of projects, from tutoring to running errands to helping out with in-schools to cleaning to teaching and all points in between; who not only acts as an 826michigan ambassador every day, but also runs our volunteer orientations; and it should be noted he is one of our longest-term and most well-rounded volunteers, a jack-of-all-trades, if you will; the kind of guy who will go to England and bring you back tea (and this is not rhetorical or metaphorical, he actually went to England and brought us all back tea); who also knows a lot about science, and taught a workshop about it, and often leaves long phone messages for other people while standing in Amy’s office and using a lot of big scientific words she doesn’t understand; the type of guy who notices if you got a haircut, even if you just got your bangs trimmed, and compliments you on it; who also happens to be a natural with kids, and adults too, for that matter; also frequently described as nice, funny, “a joy to be around,” gregarious, intelligent, and omnipotent—is one of our all-time favorite people and best-ever volunteers.
And we love him. A lot. Thanks, Rahul, for hanging out with us for the last two years.