May Volunteer of the Month! - Erin Coltrera

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Hey folks, we're thrilled to announce the May Volunteer of the Month - Erin Coltrera! Here's what some of our staff had to say about Erin:

"Since the beginning of the school year, Erin has co-facilitated a healthy relationship group with 7th grade students at Pathfinder School in Seattle. Erin has shown incredible dedication in working with youth. She deeply values the intelligence, creativity and potential of each of the youth she works with, and she has a real talent for connecting with and building relationships with youth. She is willing to work all jobs big and small, friom facilitating conversations about relationships and gender roles to prepping snack and cleaning up. She’s also helped New Beginnings plan a youth pilot project focused on leadership, bringing creativity and skills around social media, marketing, and evaluation. Erin’s actions and consistently positive attitude make it clear that supporting youth around healthy relationships is a true passion!"

We had a chance to sit down (that is, email correspond) with Erin and here's what she had to say:


Q: Who are you and what do you do when you’re not volunteering?
A: I actually just finished up school, but when I'm not in class or doing homework I coach high school lacrosse and the University of Washington Mock Trial team. That kept me pretty busy this year. I think I'll spend summer playing fetch with my puppy.

Q: What do you like most about volunteering with New Beginnings?
A: I really like working with the kids at Pathfinder Middle School. They're amazing and they make it really easy to remember why I'm dragging out of bed and slogging through traffic on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. They're always really happy to see Rebecca and me and they work really hard no matter what we're doing.

Q: What’s a memorable story you have from your time as a volunteer?
A: I'll never forget the looks on our girls' faces when we showed them the t-shirts we had made up. One of them drew the design and they were all so proud. It was really neat to see them put the t-shirts on and see how excited everyone was.

Q: The definitive summertime song for me is…?
A: 'My friend' by Groove Armada

Q: What’s the last video on YouTube you watched?
A: I think it was the little baby panda sneezing and scaring the mom. I totally fell out of my chair laughing when one of my friends sent that to me.



Bud...

 Q: What’s the last joke or prank someone pulled on you?
A: The mock trial team has a rubber toad named Francis that we take to tournaments. The guys love to put him outside hotel room doors, knock, and then run away as fast as they can. I definitely opened my door in the middle of the night a few times this year, only to find Francis looking up at me.

Q: It’s the middle of summer and you’re firing up the BBQ. What’s cooking on your grill?
A: Salmon in a ginger/soy glaze.

Q: Anything else you’d like to share with the millions watching from home?
A: Nope, I gotta get back to work!

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Ahh! We're getting back to work!