Federico Méndez Ramírez
My team tutor Mary Bernard and I nominated Federico Mendez for the Joe Distelheim Award because he has been an excellent and enthusiastic student all year. Federico is always the first to arrive in class and engages in conversation to practice his English. We can count on him to participate in class activities and finish his assignments. It is obvious that he wants to learn because he asks questions when he does not understand something and makes sure that we check his work. The other students benefit from these questions and from his motivation to learn how to speak, read and write English.
In the fall semester, Federico went above and beyond by attending another English class once a week on the island after ours. He has an early morning job working at a golf course. But despite having to start work very early in the morning, he always appears energetic and happy to learn as much English as he can when he arrives in class in the evening.
Federico is very appreciative of our efforts. He always thanks us for the class and compliments us on any extra effort he sees us making. He has said many times “You give us some really great stuff; thank you!”
For the last day of class this year, we designed a type of jeopardy game to help the students review what they had learned all year. We had pictures and words for each of the fifty questions we asked. Each student had a buzzer to press to indicate they knew the answer. We awarded prizes for first, second, and third place. Federico won first place and was awarded our version of the Olympic gold medal!
This past fall, Federico faced a serious medical issue that had a scary and uncertain outcome. Although he was in pain before his surgery, he attended class with a positive attitude and a smile. He soldered on when many may have given up even though sitting for a long period was very painful for him.
Despite his busy schedule, Federico helps in the community by cutting hair for his friends who cannot afford to go to a salon. He also helps students who struggle in class and is patient to help others with assignments. His hard work has paid off and his English is much better than it was when he started class in the fall.
Mary Bernard & Kimberly Hagenbach, Volunteer Tutors
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