Frontier College in Quebec provincial newsletter

Montreal, Quebec and Sherbrooke:
Frontier College’s Quebec Team unveiled

Mélanie Valcin, Quebec Manager

Mélanie Valcin has been the Quebec Manager since 2002. She works from the Montreal regional office. She is responsible for the development of Frontier College’s activities in the province. She supervises the staff, develops and manages government relations and funding, and handles communications and public relations for the province of Quebec. What motivates Mélanie? The dedication of the 500 Quebec volunteers that join Frontier College each year to share the gift of literacy.

Diego Gallego, Community Coordinator (Montreal)

This year, Diego celebrates 10 years of service with our beloved organization. Why so much passion for Frontier College? First, because he believes we do good work, and second, because the literacy cause touches him personally. Diego’s parents, who migrated to France in the 1960s, did not know how to read or write. His father learned to speak French on construction sites and learned to write by mixing with syndicates and reading socialist press!

Having already worked in the literacy field in France, Diego enrolled in continuing studies in Education, and first worked as a volunteer on the UQÀM Organizational Team. Diego was an average student, possibly due to his socio-cultural background—his family did not speak French at home. This is why he easily understands all the efforts volunteers make to help foreign-born children learn Quebec’s culture and language.

In short, working with Frontier College gives Diego the impression that he is helping himself retroactively and somehow also helps parents like his to better integrate into our wonderful nation. And the icing on the cake: working with socially involved and strongly motivated volunteers gives him incredible energy and hope.

Krystyna Slawecki, Community Coordinator (Montreal)

Krystyna first set foot into Frontier College last summer, and has since discovered a dynamic and efficient organization! Following her work in international development, Krystyna pursues her passion for community development and grassroots organizing locally, here in Montreal. Through literacy and education, she seeks to reinforce the organizations and promote capacity-building in the communities that cater to those very needs. She is proud to be part of such a devoted and talented team of interns, volunteers and employees and she throws herself wholeheartedly into her new role as community coordinator for Frontier College.

Joëlle Marion, Community Coordinator (Quebec City and Sherbrooke)

Motivated by a love for reading and writing, as well as a desire to share knowledge, Joëlle joins in the ranks of Frontier College in 2001, as a French second language tutor at Laval University. She could have never imagined that this experience had the capacity to change drastically her initial career plans! Yet discovering at once the world of literacy and a dynamic team, Joëlle‘s involvement grew; from summer employee, to full-time member of the OT and later to intern. Thus, as she completed her studies in Literature, she happily joined the team of Community coordinators at Frontier College. She is based in Quebec City and manages off–site the University of Sherbrooke campus.

Simon-Pierre Chevarie-Cossette, Intern (Montreal)

Simon-Pierre entered Frontier College in 2008 and is here to stay! He started volunteering in reading circles and at homework clubs, and then became a member of UdeM’s Organizational Team. This is what made him want to extend his experience by becoming a Frontier College Intern at UdeM.

His growing interest in literacy is now intimately related to his profound belief in the virtues of education. It is with that in mind that he pursues his studies in Philosophy, which allows him to initiate ideas which he then puts into practice on the field. His leitmotiv: Each problem has to be well-posed for its solution to be found. Simon-Pierre feels that Frontier College has put its finger on the right problem and brings a fair and enriching response to it.

Laurence Ferdinand, Intern (Montreal)

Sophie Jeukens, Intern (Sherbrooke)

Sophie Jeukens met Frontier College in the summer of 2006. Four years later, after having experienced the reading tents, one-on-one tutoring, homework clubs and reading circles, she was ready to coordinate the reading tents program, the one which attracted her to the organization in the first place. This interest in reading is nothing new: it is a childhood love which eventually took her to the field of Literary Studies. In parallel with her commitment to literacy, Sophie enjoys opening free expression spaces in Sherbrooke by organizing different cultural events. A poet and musician, she also totes her words to people’s ears, both on stage and on paper, and regularly gives literary creation workshops in schools.

Nathalie McDuff, Intern (Montreal)

Nathalie McDuff is in her sixth year of involvement with Frontier College. While doing group tutoring for three years in Côte-des-Neiges (Montreal), Nathalie saw her vocation and aspirations confirmed: she would like to teach French as a second language. Her groups were composed of adult learners—one of them being 83 years old— whose interest, perseverance and diligence confirm the importance of offering this kind of activity. Then, Nathalie became Coordinator of the Summer Reading Tent program in Montreal for two years and had a better contact with children. She eventually joined (and is still a member of) many organizational teams whose senior and student members are all exceptionally dynamic and stimulating.

Marie-Ève Poulin, Intern (Quebec City)

Four years ago, Marie-Ève joined Laval’s dynamic Frontier College team as a volunteer for a seniors’ reading club. Two years later, she became a member of the Organizational Team and now holds the position of Intern. During all those years, her role has been to support and encourage an extraordinary community of dedicated and curious volunteers. Marie-Ève finds it extremely rewarding and motivating to share knowledge with others and to help bring a bit of happiness to them. She is happy to spend pleasant moments in good company once again this year!

Tatiana St-Louis, Intern (Montreal)

Tatiana St-Louis completed a B.A. in Humanities at Concordia University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature at UdeM. Interested in the development and the transmission of culture, she aims at a career in academic teaching and research. Always ready to discover new cultures, she is a travel geek. Fluent in French, English and Spanish, Tatiana is now beginning to study Russian, reminding her of the challenges associated with learning a new language. She believes that reading and writing are essential means to understand and actively participate in the life and traditions of any society.

Raïssa Ngo, Communications Officer (Montreal)

This summer, Raïssa joined the Frontier College team as the new communications agent in Montreal. Recently established in Canada, it is with a great enthusiasm and a lot of interest that she seized the opportunity to work for a community organization. She provides administrative support to the coordinators and performs administrative tasks related to the recruitment, selection and supervision of our volunteer tutors. Raïssa also manages the volunteer database and runs the Frontier College Facebook pages of the province of Quebec.