An image of Mary standing in front of the Shakespeare Company bookstore!
Words Alive spotlights the amazing accomplishments and service of volunteers each month with our Volunteer of the Month award. This is an important way for us to thank you, and to honor just a few of the many great moments in time you have given to the organization.
This month our Volunteer of the Month is Mary Weatherup! Mary joined the Words Alive family fairly recently, but we have been so impressed by her dedication to our mission. She is a curriculum volunteer who diligently worked on a curriculum guide for our middle school students this summer, and she enthusiastically jumped in when we needed extra help on a guide for this fall! We were also so grateful for her support at our Author’s Luncheon & Fundraiser!
Now, let’s hear more from Mary!
For as long as I can remember, I've been an avid reader. Entire childhood car trips and family vacations are a blur, lost to whatever story I was reading at the time. All these years later, it's still hard to tear me away from a good book. I have a Master's Degree in English Literature and have spent years working in a university writing center. Upon moving to San Diego, I was looking for a way to use my love of reading and teaching skills, and Words Alive! seemed like a perfect fit. I started my volunteer work in May of this year, compiling a curriculum guide for middle grade readers. I learned a lot in the process, and I'm currently helping out with another guide. My favorite Words Alive! event so far was the Annual Author’s Luncheon & Fundraiser. It was a great way to learn more about the organization and meet the new Executive Director, and I loved hearing Emma Donoghue speak. I'm so inspired by the difference Words Alive! is making in the community.
I'm currently reading The Testaments by Margaret Atwood. As a big fan of The Handmaid's Tale, I had to have this one hot off the press! I am also looking forward to The Dutch House, a new novel by Ann Patchett, who is one of my favorite authors. Perhaps the best book I read this year, however, is an older novel, A Member of the Wedding, by Carson McCullers. It was such a sensitive story and beautifully written.