William Carleton is a San Diego native who grew up with a love of books and reading. This interest lead him to graduate from the University of San Diego in 2015 with a Bachelors Degree in English. Looking to start a career which helped others, William became involved with several local nonprofits after graduation, including Words Alive. After interning with Words Alive, William is excited to join the team as the Administrative and Database Coordinator.
We hope you get to meet him soon, if you have not yet! Now, let's hear from William directly!
Tell us what intrigued you about Words Alive?
I was fortunate growing up that my school and family made an effort to teach me to love reading. I have always loved reading, and ended up majoring in English at USD. Without growing up in an environment that supported literacy and learning, I would not have had many of the opportunities that I have had in life to succeed. Words Alive's mission of helping to share a love of learning with children and families to help them succeed in life is something that I am very excited to support.
How has Words Alive changed the story of your life?
When I graduated from college, I decided that I wanted to make a career out of helping people through work with nonprofits. Unfortunately, I didn't have much experience. I was really lucky to be able to volunteer for Words Alive and learn more about what working in a nonprofit setting is like. Working with Words Alive also helped me become more aware of literacy issues in San Diego, and made me realize just how important literacy education is.
What are you most excited about in your new position?
I'm excited to learn more about general office work, as well as continue helping the development staff and others as needed.
What is your relationship with reading?
I have always loved reading for fun, visiting the library to check out books regularly growing up. I still read a lot of books for fun, usually suspense or fantasy fiction. Reading has also played a big role in my education, helping me pick up information from class readings to succeed in school. My love of reading also influenced me in choosing my college major.
What are you currently reading?
It by Stephen King
Currently, there are no employment opportunities at Words Alive, but we are ALWAYS recruiting wonderful volunteers to work in the classrooms with our students and families. Check out how to get involved as a Words Alive volunteer!