Our May Mentor of the Month is Anu Vaitheswaran. Anu has been reading with Everybody Wins! Iowa for an impressive 11 years!
Anu is a mentor at Capitol View Elementary and just finished up her 2nd year of reading with her latest mentee, Kimberly.
One part of reading with EWI that Anu really enjoys is the various ways that students learn through reading.
“I’ve been very impressed with how some children learn things from stories that I might not have seen at first glance or pick up aspects of a story that might not have been apparent to me,” Anu said. “And I think that’s an aspect of the reading program that has just made me very happy to be a part of it.”
Marty Katz, site coordinator for Capitol View Elementary, said that we are very privileged to have Anu as a mentor in our program.
“We are grateful that she is willing to devote her time and effort to our program particularly in light of her demanding responsibilities as an appellate court judge,” Marty said.
Anu has enjoyed her time reading with Kimberly and believes that Kimberly has also grown to enjoy their time spent reading together.
“I feel as if I’m less of a mentor than simply a friend that enjoys reading with another friend,” Anu said. “I enjoy seeing children light up when they like a story. I also enjoy seeing them try to read themselves, some of them are very proficient and really have fun reading on their own.”
Thank you, Anu, for being such a great mentor over the years!