Alyssa Lopez, Data Diva & Volunteer Extraordinaire

September 2, 2015 | 826 Blog Post

Alyssa Lopez

Alyssa Lopez asked us something during her internship in the summer of 2014 that stopped many a heart mid-beat: I love doing data entry–are there any other projects like this I can do? There are many important roles that 826michigan volunteers take on when it comes to our programs, and one of them is the behind-the-scenes work of registering, tabulating, and organizing information to keep things on track and safe. Alyssa has processed information tirelessly for 826, and she has done so with precision and glee, and in her characteristic relaxed way that makes us all feel that everything’s going to be just fine, as long as Alyssa is there to help.

Alyssa has been a volunteer with 826michigan since January 2013 and has helped a regular tutor on Liberty Street, a drop-in writing leader and summer intern, and of course, as a behind-the-scenes-data-entering-application-processing-background-checking- wizard and a dedicated Ambassador and supporter of all things 826. Because Alyssa has helped in so many ways, we developed a habit of calling on her for special needs that would pop up from time to time — substitute tutoring or workshops intern? End of year data entry crunch? Tabling at that event? Yes, yes, and yes, Alyssa jumps in always and anywhere she is needed. Even when she was working two jobs and taking a full load of classes at U of M, Alyssa found a way to help 826, by doing off-site data entry and typing of student work when she had free time.

Alyssa is a caring, creative, funny, and–you probably guessed this–incredibly organized teacher; she recently also found time to design and teach a wildly successful scary stories workshop for our students, showing them how writers build suspense using the clever model of cat videos from the internet. We know these attributes (and her knowledge of cat videoes) will serve her well in the future; a recent graduate of U of M, Alyssa just moved to a new location, joining City Year Detroit as a corps member. We are so proud of you, Alyssa, and so grateful for all that you have done and continue to do to keep 826michigan running!

 


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