Stephanie Camilleri has become the resident publishing liaison for the Detroit Robot Factory Field Trip program, making sure students are proud of, and a part of, their finished book. For nearly every field trip in Detroit, she has walked students through the process of ordering their pages, explained how the binding machine works, and encouraged students to press the all-powerful giant green button. And the only thing more exciting than becoming a published author, is pressing a huge green button.
Stephanie also brings a thoughtful energy to the field trip program, taking note of student reactions and issues that come up, and working to address them. When students she was working with seemed fidgety, she suggested more brain breaks, acting out scenes from the story or just moving to a different part of the room. Her kindness and support of students has been a welcome and reliable force during Detroit field trips.
When she’s not helping young people press buttons, she is studying at Elementary Education and Math at Eastern Michigan University, where she learned about 826michigan through a partnership course (although she has continued to volunteer after satisfying her service learning hours). She also spends time with her beautiful pup, Kensi, (currently incapable of pressing green buttons, but hopefully soon) and training for marathons. If you see her running outside your window, be sure to say thank you from us, and congratulate her on her new Volunteer of the Month status!