Volunteer Profiles - Meet Allen

In the 14 years Allen Rozelle has been teaching English to adults as a volunteer tutor with the Literacy Program of the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County, he has touched the lives of over 50 students and their families. Recognizing a need, he started a small class of motivated students in the Beach Flats area where he taught for eight years and a drop-in class at the Day Worker Center that he taught for seven years.

Allen utilized a strategy called the “Silent Way” in which he would open up a topic for discussion and then wait while students formed their ideas. He allowed plenty of time for their speech to emerge and let the lesson go wherever the students took it. With the onset of the pandemic, Allen reluctantly gave up his classes but continued to teach individual students virtually through FaceTime.

Dedicated to the Literacy Program, Allen has served on the Advisory Committee for four years and can always be counted on to raise his hand to be on subcommittees or do extra tasks. Allen can frequently be found in the Literacy office helping staff assemble materials for trainings, making phone calls and organizing student files.

In the past year, in spite of personal challenges, Allen has continued to show up at the office to help and to meet with his students so they can continue improving their English and their lives. Volunteering between 15 to 20 hours a month, Allen is an inspiring example of dedication to our English learning neighbors in our community.