Beginning in February 2018, I have volunteered once a week as a GED/HiSET Language Arts tutor at the Durham Literary Center, which provides 2.5 hour tutoring to students aiming to pass the high school equivalency exam.
This past summer, I taught as an instructor of comic book art and cartooning for grades 2-6 at the Carrboro ArtsCenter, and as an instructor of art for ESL pre-kindergarteners through the Orange County Family Success Alliance “Ready For K” program.
Since 2013, I have been a regular participant in “The Public School Durham’s “Queer Cinema Night,” a series in which volunteers screen a film of their choice and lead a brief discussion afterwards, in which attendees are encouraged to analyze the film through a queer lens.
These experiences have in different ways informed my development as a teacher, as both classroom settings come with a student population that is on average quite different than the Duke undergraduate population in age, class background, and English language proficiency.