Welcome to our blog series, Plot Twist! Here, we'll be sharing the stories of people in the Words Alive community — stories of change, growth, and maybe a few surprising twists! We hope that through these stories, you'll get to know our community a little better and see the power of literacy come to life. This article is part of a special edition of this series as it spotlights our incredible volunteers who have been nominated for Words Alive’s 13th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration!
An image of Janelle Terry-Lorenzo.
Janelle Terry-Lorenzo warmly shares her literary talents and her deep appreciation for books with those around her and at Words Alive. As our Curriculum Designer of the Year, Janelle has served as a Curriculum Designer and Editor since 2021 and just began volunteering as an Adolescent Book Group (ABG) facilitator at the Monarch School this past January 2022.
She initially discovered Words Alive before the pandemic as she perused VolunteerMatch for service opportunities related to her passions. Though she had previously been unable to attend an orientation session due to her schedule, Words Alive’s shift to accommodate virtual/at-home volunteer work during COVID-19 allowed Janelle to easily get started in early 2021.
“I feel like literature has a very powerful role in developing empathy…and also helping us to feel like we belong when we see ourselves in stories. I like the idea of being a part of that for young people.”
Janelle’s love for literature exudes in all aspects of her volunteering. She explained being drawn to “the story of Words Alive” as “the focus [was] not just on improving literacy,” but also on “fostering a love of reading and the way that we can use books as both mirrors and windows.”
With a bachelor’s degree in English and a background as an editor for the pharmaceutical industry, Janelle found Words Alive’s Curriculum Crew roles appealing as it enabled her to lose herself for a couple hours in her hobby of editing while contributing a greater appreciation for reading via shaping our curriculums. Her experiences tutoring and teaching Language Arts part-time also came in handy when she joined the Adolescent Book Group program. She expressed having fun working with middle schoolers, sharing, “I love the stuff they come up with, the insights, it’s such an interesting age group.”
While engaging students in intense conversations was at times challenging, Janelle revealed that being an ABG facilitator carried a “positive intensity” that was really rewarding. She described the impact of witnessing the curriculums she was used to primarily working on come to life for the first time in the classroom and encountering students, teachers, and others’ excited reactions upon learning of her connection with Words Alive. Janelle expressed feeling not only proud to be part of a program recognized for its great impact, but also gaining more confidence in her volunteer work as she progressed.
Janelle Terry-Lorenzo’s children walking ahead inside a hallway at the Library of Congress.
Moreover, Janelle’s passion and motivation in her volunteer roles extends from living out and instilling her strong, connective values of reading and learning together in her family relationships. Homeschooling her two children who are now in middle school and high school, Janelle has long designed academic curriculums for her own kids and cultivated a love for reading and discussing literature with them. Her daughter remarked that “libraries [were] a common thread through her childhood” as Janelle and her family often drove and took trips throughout the US, bringing their own books/audiobooks and visiting libraries along the way. In her own words, “it’s definitely a part of our family culture!”
“[The Words Alive staff] is committed to helping me becoming better at editing and designing...[It’s] helpful to know that that’s the focus, it’s not assembly lined, it’s not impersonal, it’s not just submitting something and have that just be the end. The people I work with at Words Alive, there’s a commitment to the big picture. ”
On top of the support of Words Alive’s staff and fellow Curriculum Crew members, drawing connections and interacting with her kids about her volunteer work is what keeps Janelle motivated. She shared that she has talked with them about Hey Kiddo, the first book Janelle read with her ABG students this year and just finished designing the curriculum for El Deafo, which she had read with her son last year. She laughed, explaining, “Books always help keep me going!”
Janelle, thank you for bringing your values and contributions to Words Alive and for generously inspiring a greater culture and love of reading among communities in San Diego and everywhere you go!
Book recommendations: Subdivision by J. Robert Lennon, The Sentence by Louise Erdrich, and she is currently rereading Watership Down by Richard Adams with her son!
This post was created by Gabby Villadolid, Words Alive’s Storytelling Intern! Do you love writing and have an interest in helping Words Alive create this type of content? We'd love to have you on the team! Email to learn more.