Working at PPL a full-circle moment…
PPL is a really important place to me, not just because it is a wonderful place to work, but also because my time here as the Youth English-as-a-Second-Language Facilitator this summer has been my first adult job. It’s felt like a very full-circle moment for me . . . it kind of felt like kismet.
I grew up loving libraries and taking part in library programming. I never imagined a library that has a maker space or such extensive collections, with not only a children’s library, but also a teen loft in the same building.
Being able to run a first-of-its-kind pilot program in Rhode Island to create ESL instruction for high school students has been a super fun and fulfilling experience. The four-week program giving students around 16 hours of instruction, kind of figuring it out as we went, has been exhilarating for everyone!
This has been my very first teaching experience and I’m thrilled to have learned so much and made amazing connections. Everyone has been so supportive. Not only am I taking away these awesome experiences, but I feel I have gained a newfound confidence in the classroom.
I’ll have such great memories of my experience here. At the end, I asked my students what their favorite things were about our class?
Some said they really loved the stories that we were reading; others liked the activities. But one of my students said that I was their favorite thing about the class. And I cried . . . in front of all these kids. But it was my favorite moment. I’m really going to think about that being like, wow, this is just a great moment for me.
For next steps, I’m finishing up my undergrad and looking at some graduate programs, and if I enter the classroom again, I know that I will have a really good network of wonderful, amazing people that I can turn to and ask for help.
PPL is such an important place in the community…
PPL is so awesome because it’s invested in and really works with and for the community. It is present in the community, and it keeps giving back to the community.
I don’t like to say “gap” because it’s not like there’s something missing, but PPL fills such an important space in Providence. My kids would come in so excited. And seeing them get excited to sign up for library cards and checking out books and seeing books in their language and finding programming that is interesting to them and helps them to grow as people, I think that is so important, and I think that’s kind of why this library is so important to the community. It fills so many crucial areas that need filling.
It’s nice to know that PPL will always be there.