During the height of the pandemic, Abigail, affectionately known as Abby, excelled in creating community in a digital space when many students were cut off from the outside world. Abby served at Aspire Afterschool Learning during the 2020 summer program, the 2020-21 program year ,and the 21- 22 program year as an AmeriCorps State Member. Abby served students in our virtual program during the Covid-19 pandemic by helping them with literacy, math, social-emotional learning, and STEAM-related activities. Abby created and implemented fun activities, helped with homework, and helped make the virtual learning space engaging and supportive. She played an instrumental role in making sure the students had a community where they could play and learn together.

After joining their in-person team to work with parents and program data, she connected with the parents of our students to share student progress, successes, and challenges. Her work was integral in connecting our AmeriCorps members to parents and teachers. Abby’s work during her time as Parent and Data Coordinator has had a lasting effect on the organization.

Alongside Staff, Abby helped inform, organize, and codify practices around enrolling students ensuring that parents had a positive experience with the process and establishing a constructive relationship with Aspire. She also contributed to effectively organizing and tracking student data in a meaningful way to benefit relationships with parents, partner schools, volunteers and fellow program team members. Her help in organizing these processes strengthened our organization. Abby was consistently dedicated and  cared deeply about both the students and their families, whether online or  in person.