“He is one of those people that you wonder how were we so lucky to have him?” said Jill Taylor.
Mike is a volunteer and helps out in the evening HiSET classes. Last fall he wanted to volunteer somewhere as he felt volunteering was important. He looked up “volunteer tutoring” online and found that Dover Adult Learning Center needed volunteers.
He called and Deb Liskow, the volunteer coordinator, who found that Jill would appreciate help with students who wanted to pass their GED before the last tests in December.
Math is Mike’s specialty, and math help is what is needed most often on the high school equivalency tests. He not only volunteered on Tuesday nights, but toward December when the last GED tests were being given, Mike came Thursday nights as well. “I don’t know what we would have done without him!” said Jill.
Then he continued to volunteer in January as students began familiarizing themselves with the new high school equivalency test, the HiSET. Mike enjoys tutoring in Jill’s class. “I like the way everyone is on each other’s team; everyone wants everyone to do well.”
Not only is he helping out with Jill’s class, but he is tutoring another student so he can get higher scores on his Accuplacer. What subject? Algebra, of course! The Accuplacer is a test used by many colleges and universities as a placement guide. It can mean that students need to take costly remedial classes with no credit before beginning college courses.
Volunteering has been part of Mike’s life for quite some time. He helped students who were slightly younger than he was in high school, usually in math. Then he continued on in college. He even helped a nine year-old in reading.
No, he does not spend all his time volunteering. He has and enjoys a full time job in online marketing for a market research company. He also enjoys basketball, hiking, and playing guitar — but, he added with his usual sense of humor, not enough to show anyone! And, the big news is that he is getting married next January! Plenty to smile about!