Bridge to Literacy renews my faith in the promise of a community founded on empathy-driven leadership and dynamic, one-on-one mentorship.
鈥溾楽pider-Man is a person.鈥 Avrom鈥檚 eyes beam with pride as he masters the art of identifying nouns, one Marvel reference at a time. Out of context, grammar practice doesn鈥檛 sound like the most invigorating activity, but as mentor, co-founder, and co-executive director of Bridge to Literacy for the last two years, I have worked to unite 150+ mentors and students across six continents and 17 countries around their zeal for language and cultural connections.
鈥淢y journey began with the Scripps National Spelling Bee. As I poured over dictionaries with new friends and gushed over the German etymology shaping words like gemutlichkeit (friendliness), I couldn鈥檛 help but realize that, while we were being granted the experience of a lifetime, millions of other children around the world were without opportunities such literacy competitions solely because of their geographic location and financial status. I co-founded Bridge to Literacy to reimagine education, encouraging children to take the reins in their language-learning experiences through hands-on curriculum.
鈥淚n my role at Bridge to Literacy, I communicate with the heads of educational partners 鈥 such as the Malawi National Commission for UNESCO and We Love Reading, a UNICEF-sponsored educational nonprofit based in Jordan 鈥 to discuss ways our organizations can collaborate to serve students鈥 needs, while also building connections with fellow changemakers to create initiatives that uplift today鈥檚 youth. Additionally, I鈥檓 in charge of writing grant proposals to secure funding for technical resources to increase educational access and more unorthodox, engaging initiatives.
鈥淚鈥檝e also mobilized in-person and remote literacy events alike, collecting 2,000+ kilograms of books, including $20,000 worth of electronic devices. Between mentoring students, delivering presentations on the intersection of art-centered innovation and volunteership to 600+ students, and building relationships with nonprofits and fellow changemakers alike, Bridge to Literacy renews my faith in the promise of a community founded on empathy-driven leadership and dynamic, one-on-one mentorship.鈥 鈥 Elizabeth Shvarts, Yale University听鈥26
Elizabeth Shvarts is a 2022 recipient of the Handeli First-Year Student Scholarship from 黑料传送门. Learn more about Hillel scholarships for Jewish students.