Volunteer Spotlight: Danielle

As a long-time peer tutor and a Project READS tutor in high school, Danielle Peterson had always wanted to volunteer with The Literacy Alliance. She is passionate about learning and recognizes the opportunities and benefits education offers to the individual and society in “every part of life”. Her schedule finally allowed her to join the TLA team a year ago when she became an assistant professor of social work at St Francis.

“People should take a moment and think about what they can do in this world due to their education and imagine what they wouldn’t have without it.”
— DANIELLE

Danielle finds it inspiring to see the willingness of students to learn and feels pride for those who obtain their diploma and meet their personal goals. To her, the New Haven classroom feels like a family filled with compassion and encouragement. As a volunteer, she has often found that the students are “the ones teaching you”. When you don’t know something, “That is a teaching moment of humility and demonstrates your willingness to learn as well,” she says.