BROOKINGS – Luis Vazquez of Elkton was named the volunteer of the year at the Brookings Multicultural Center’s Volunteer Appreciation Awards Ceremony on Thursday evening.
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BROOKINGS – Luis Vazquez of Elkton was named the volunteer of the year at the Brookings Multicultural Center’s Volunteer Appreciation Awards Ceremony on Thursday evening.
Vazquez began teaching an ESL class specifically geared to Latinos more than three years ago. As many as 25 students came to Vazquez’s Thursday evening classes before COVID-19 ended in-person instruction. He resumed teaching the ESL class at the Brookings Multicultural Center in fall 2021.
“Luis has given freely of his time on his day off to help second-language learners develop their vocabulary and speaking skills,” said Marilyn Hildreth, president of the Multicultural Center board of directors. “We are so pleased to honor him for the many hours he’s devoted to the center.”
Vazquez, who works with dairy cow genetics at a farm near Elkton, moved to South Dakota four years ago after working as a breeder in the state of New Mexico. He credits Maristela Rovai, an associate professor in South Dakota State University’s Department of Dairy Science and SDSU Extension dairy specialist, for getting him interested in volunteering at the center.
“Luis’s connections with the Latino community and his commitment to language learning are helping his students more fully engage in our community and helping fulfill our center’s goal of build bridges of understanding among cultures,” said Jennie Bauske, the multicultural center events coordinator.
The class is a joint effort among volunteers for whom Spanish is their native language and those who do not speak Spanish who help the attendees learn and practice English. The lessons are geared to those who work fulltime, and the lessons proceed at a bit slower pace than a university ESL class. After the lesson, the volunteers work one-on-one with the students, practicing what they’ve learned. Free child care is also available during the class
To apply to volunteer at the Brookings Multicultural Center, send an email to brookingsmc@gmail.com. Follow the Center on Facebook and Instagram: www.facebook.com/brookingsmulticulturalcenter and http://Instagram.com/brookingsmulticulturalcenter.
