Spotlights

Donor Spotlight

Gene Swedish, a former teacher, has been giving both her time and resources to MEP for over four years. A tutor in the Girls’ Program, Swedish works with Brittany, eighth grade; Danielle, third grade; and Deniqua, second grade. Swedish and her husband Joe, the president and CEO of Trinity Health, originally became involved with MEP through the close connection between the Sisters of Mercy and Trinity Health. “I sort of fell into it,” Gene Swedish said. “My husband and I were invited to [former MEP executive director] Sister Karen Egri’s retirement party, and seeing this place and hearing about it really piqued my interest.”

Swedish was drawn to the Girls’ Program by her teaching background and love of children, and she insists upon the value of MEP’s after-school tutoring program. “For one thing, MEP is an excellent, result-oriented program which fills a huge need in this area. As a volunteer, you’re not just coming in to spend time with children; you’re doing something worthwhile,” said Swedish. The Girls’ Program students love Swedish as much as she loves them. During an activity time before tutoring, third-grader Isabel told her group about her former tutor:  “Her name is Mrs. Swedish because she’s so sweet.”

Gene gives not only her time but also her resources to MEP. “I give because being here, seeing firsthand how much good the program does, and observing how wisely-run it is makes me want to give. My husband and I choose to support MEP because if we were going to support one program, we wanted it to be a worthwhile one like MEP Girls’ Program.”

Volunteeer Spotlight

Ryan Flint, a 2009 graduate of Michigan State University, has been tutoring Spanish-speaking students in the Women’s Programs for the past year.  Having studied Spanish and Latin American Studies at MSU, the Peace Corps applicant is more than equipped to tutor our students in English, social studies, and math. “I like being part of a second chance opportunity for these students,” Flint said.

Adult education instructor Kathy Ojeda considers tutors like Flint to be “extremely valuable” to our Hispanic students whose English skills aren’t strong enough for English instruction. MEP has four Spanish-speaking tutors, in addition to Kathy Ojeda, who has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Spanish. “It’s not that these students don’t want to learn English,” said Ojeda. “They do, but it helps the student to reach her goal more quickly when she can learn and test in her native language.”

The GED test is available in Spanish and French, and MEP students have taken advantage of these versions. Recent graduate Maria Gasca, who was tutored by Flint, took all but one GED test in Spanish (she opted for an English math test). Tutors like Flint will continue to be valuable at MEP as the number of our Hispanic students grows.