volunteer profile - Keith

My name is Keith. I am married, and have two children. Traveling and sports are my two favourite activities. Working with ESL students is my passion. I have been a volunteer at Bow Valley College since 2000.

During an ESL writing class last semester, we were viewing a clip from the movie, "I Am Sam". Rita, a lawyer, was confessing to her client, a mentally challenged man, that she was getting more out of the relationship than he was.

I share Rita’s sentiments. Naturally, one would expect the students to be the beneficiaries of the expertise and guidance offered by the volunteer tutors. While that is true, I can tell you that on more than one occasion, I have left the classroom feeling that I have learned so much more than they have.

I have been a teacher with the Calgary Board of Education since 1989. In addition, since 1993, I have been employed by two different home stay organizations as a program coordinator and ESL teacher. During that time, it has been my pleasure to take two trips to Japan: one being a holiday, the other to teach high school teachers in that country how to teach English.

To know that I have helped someone to not only learn a new language but also deal with all of the other challenges of adapting to a new country gives me pleasure beyond words. When I told a student I did this just because I like to help people, she embraced me with a tear-filled hug. Rita certainly knew what she was talking about.