Decked out in bright red, Hamline student Kate Ryan certainly catches the eye. But her colorful wardrobe isn’t a fashion statement – it identifies her as a member of the Minnesota Reading Corps, a statewide volunteer organization dedicated to helping children become lifelong readers. 

Ryan is currently in her first year  in Hamline’s Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program, earning her initial licensure in K-6. By night, she’s just another Hamline graduate student. But by day, she’s a tutoring superheroine. Ryan has been working with The Minnesota Reading Corps for over a year to tutor literacy at Jackson Preparatory Magnet school. 

“I think one of the best things is just being able to see my students progress,” Ryan said of the program.

The Reading Corps is a part of AmeriCorps, a national network of service organizations. It is staffed by volunteers – many of whom, like Ryan, have an interest in education – dedicated to improving K-3 students’ reading abilities. 

“We mostly work with kids who are below grade level who might need that extra little push,” Ryan said. Ryan works with 1-3 grade students to give them that focused attention they need. Every school day, she works with a caseload of about 15-18 students in 20-minute one-on-one sessions parcelled throughout the day.

“Kids are reading to learn instead of learning to read. So making sure kids have that reading proficiency and are reading at grade level by third grade and passing that third grade MCA is really important for future academic success. So that’s really what Reading Corps focuses on,” Ryan said. 

Ryan received her undergraduate degree in Modern Languages/Literature in 2012 from Kenyon College, a private liberal-arts college in Ohio. Initially, Ryan didn’t know she wanted to teach. After hearing about the experiences of her friends in the foreign language program who were teaching assistants, she began to consider the possibility.

“I never really formally thought about it [teaching] until college, but throughout high school I’d be that 12th grader tutoring the freshmen after school in foreign language class helping them conjugate verbs,” Ryan said, “So I guess I was always that kid and always had this desire to help out the younger students.”

It was at Kenyon College that Ryan first heard about the Minnesota Reading Corps.

“I believe I actually heard about Reading Corps through my college’s career development office, probably. I’m not sure why, considering I went to college in Ohio,” Ryan said with a laugh, “Somehow I heard about the Minnesota Reading Corps and that’s why I moved up here to Minnesota.”

Last year, Ryan began her service with the Reading Corps. This year marks her second year with the corps and her first year here at Hamline. Two of her co-workers in the Reading Corps were students in Hamline’s MAT program, and Ryan became intrigued. 

“I heard only good things about Hamline, so I figured I should check it out,” Ryan said. “One thing I really like about Hamline’s program is that their grad school programs for education are all at night, and it’s really built around people who are already in a school.”

That time slot turned out to be ideal for Ryan, who spends her days tutoring at Jackson Preparatory Magnet School and nights learning at Hamline. 

“I feel like I’ve been able to take a lot of the things that I’ve learned in my Hamline class and take it to Reading Corps with my work that I do at Jackson,” Ryan said, “And then I also feel that I’ve been able to take the things that I see at the school, being in a school, and I’m able to take those and apply them to my Hamline coursework and that’s been really valuable.”

Even though she frequently helped out other students during her own education, the Reading Corps was Ryan’s first official foray into tutoring.

“That’s one of the great things about Reading Corps – they really don’t expect you to have any formal teaching or tutoring experience,” Ryan said. Volunteers undergo a summer training session, where they are taught the skills they’ll need to be a part of the Reading Corps. 

Ryan also emphasized the importance of learning time and financial management while working with the Reading Corps. Although volunteers receive a living stipend, it is not a highly compensated job.

“It comes along with being a volunteer position,” Ryan said. “Financial and time management is something that you kind of learn as you go if you don’t already have it, if you’re going to be successful.”

Like other full-time volunteers, Ryan has had to juggle her Hamline coursework with her tutoring, which can be tiring.

“Working in an elementary school is exhausting, to be sure. It takes a lot of energy, dealing with the younger kiddos,” Ryan said.

The kids, however, have a way of taking Ryan’s mind off the hardships.

“You will constantly be told the most ridiculous things by your kids. So even if it’s a really tough day, and you might be wanting to be really frustrated with this one kid, the next kid will come in and they’ll totally say something that will make you laugh,” Ryan said, “So there will be tough times, but then working with the kids is so such a valuable experience. Because they really do bring a lot of joy and laughter into the classroom.”

Ryan also says that watching her students improve and come to enjoy reading is a reward all its own.

“Just seeing the students’ confidence grow, is probably the most fulfilling part for me actually,” Ryan said. “Just seeing the kid who was a really shy reader at the beginning of the year [who] didn’t really want to open up to at all – now you’re like a really good friend to them, they just want to read, and just seeing their confidence grow both in reading and then in other subjects in school just seeing them kind of open up in general has been really rewarding.”