Name: Gabriella Kallas
Year: Junior
Major(s): Arabic Studies and American Studies
Hometown: Scarsdale, New York
Could you tell us a little bit about Brayton Tutoring and your role in the program?
The Brayton tutoring program brings students from Williams over to Brayton elementary school to help out during their afterschool programming. The program does a lot of great things. It, of course, provides mentoring and tutoring for the kids, who often come from tough family situations where they may not be getting that much emotional or academic support. It also provides numbers for helping out with the afterschool programs; because of budget cuts, last year the program combined three elementary schools, which meant the teachers were swamped and really needed our help. I am one of two co-directors of the program, which means I’m helping with doing everything from recruiting new tutors to signups to improving how we tutor to getting feedback about how the program is going.
What led you to become involved?
My family has always stressed education as the most important thing in my life, so my passion for education definitely has to do with those values. I decided specifically to get involved here when I worked at a charter school in East Harlem the summer after my freshman year. I was angry about a lot of things I saw, about the fact that kids get better education because of their family’s wealth, because, for charter schools, a lottery number can completely change your life. I came out of that experience wanting to try to do anything I could to help out in my own community, and that’s where working with Brayton tutoring came in.
How has this experience impacted your studies at Williams? Or has it been the other way around?
I guess it’s gone both ways. My experience at Williams, learning about oppression through Latino/a and Arabic Studies have led me to become more of a political activist, which led me to take the job at Harlem Village Academies and want to generally help more with the communities I find myself in. But since then, I’ve been a lot more interested in the region in general, and how we as Williams students should be giving back to the community that we find ourselves in here. I think too many people see the wealth immediately surrounding Williamstown and don’t realize how much help is needed just 5 or 10 minutes further down Route 2.
Is this something you see yourself doing post grad?
I could definitely see myself trying to change education policy, or trying to work in government to get our priorities straight budget-wise. I enjoy tutoring and teaching, but I’m not sure if it’s a lifelong career for me. I also have a lot of other issues I’m passionate about outside of education—for example, I worked for an immigrant rights group last summer, and I’m starting up a group to teach consent workshops at local high schools around here—but I think it’s all in the same vein of social justice.
If there is one thing you feel students should know about tutoring or helping other students with their studies, what is it?
I think, at least for us in the Brayton program and the age level we work with (elementary school kids), it’s important to plant seeds for a love of learning. This could come from games, from sharing your favorite book, or from getting to know the child and figuring out how best to engage him or her. I think the enthusiasm and excitement that we can bring as Williams students who, generally, are pretty nerdy and excited about learning can be incredibly impactful in how kids view school.