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 On July 25th at the Southwest Virginia Institute for Life-long Learning, learner Travis Crowe and tutor Claire Blake received the Virginia Literacy Foundation’s Jeannie P. Baliles Award for Outstanding Learner-Tutor Pair. At the award dinner held at Radford University, Yvonne Thayer, Director of the Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Adult Education and Literacy, read an excerpt from the pair’s nomination before calling them up to receive their award. Two proud spouses, Marsha Crowe and Jerry Blake, looked on as Travis and Claire came forward to accept their plaques and a thousand-dollar check in their honor to LVA-Roanoke Valley. Virginia’s Secretary of Education Belle S. Wheelan smiled broadly as she congratulated and posed for photographs with the two awardees. LVA-RV Executive Director Nancy Chapin and Basic Literacy Program Coordinator Jack Spraker were also on hand to cheer on Travis and Claire.
This outstanding learner-tutor pair has worked together for five years with remarkable success. They had have many achievements during this time together, including the Learner and Tutor of the Year Awards. Their story, which was featured in the Roanoke Times on July 25th, should serve as an inspiration to everyone in the program.
As a member of this outstanding learner-tutor pair, Travis Crowe has made the most progress of any other learner in recent years. Travis entered in May 1997 at the Low Intermediate Basic Level and has advanced to High Adult Secondary Level. Presently, he and Claire are working on GED preparation. There is no doubt that this determined young man will reach this goal.
Claire Blake has guided Travis to his remarkable advancement in reading but it did not happen overnight. It is the product of five years of hard work, caring, and commitment. Before being matched with Travis, Claire was matched with three other students over a year’s time. Although she worked hard and gave these learners everything she had, they gave up and dropped out for a variety of reasons. Many volunteer tutors quit in the face of such discouragement, but not Claire. She kept trying because she has a strong desire to help someone who desires to help himself. After this year disappointment, Claire was matched with Travis.
The two have been working steadily since for the last five years and the commitment is a strong one. When Travis wanted to buy a new car, he called Claire and talked it over with her. When he was offered a new job, again Claire received a phone call asking for advice. Over the years, Claire has become more than a tutor. She’s a mentor and a guide. She takes on this extra duty without complaint, saying recently, “Travis is the same age as my son, so this helps me understand where he is in his life.”
Travis has risen above adversity while remaining dedicated to his family responsibilities. As a young parent who had not completed high school, Travis knew he needed to further his education. For several years, since the birth of his second child, Travis has been working on his literacy skills and is getting closer and closer to getting his GED.
In the meantime, Travis has worked hard in the construction business. He has advanced in employment several times and most recently was made a Crew Supervisor for the remodeling company that employs him. Although he works many hours, Travis always finds time for his tutoring. He brings his work home and now enjoys reading to his two small children.
Claire led Travis to apply the determination and commitment he showed for his job and his young family to his work as an adult learner. Unfortunately, these innovations cannot be easily summed up. One must witness Travis and Claire working together to see how it works. These two just clicked together from the beginning.
Travis’s commitment and involvement extends beyond his work on his literacy skills. He continually shares of himself and gives back to the program. Two years ago he appeared on a television commercial that created greater awareness and brought new learners to the program. In 1999, he and Claire appeared in the newspaper when they were honored as our program’s Learner and Tutor of the Year. Travis contributes to Writing from the Heart, LVA-Roanoke Valley’s student publication, every year. He recently participated in a play writing workshop and worked with another volunteer to compose a short play about his struggle to come forward and get help with his literacy, which was published in Reflections: A Literary Magazine by Adult Learners RLCC Region 3. In August 2001, Travis and Claire appeared on a television news segment about our program. In October 2001, Travis and Claire attended the LVA Annual Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributing their reflections on the trip (which was Travis’s first flight) in the volunteer newsletter.
Claire is always willing to talk to other tutors about her experience, telling the new ones to hang in there if their first match doesn’t work out. Claire is a part of a great team. She will be there when Travis gets his GED, and we can just hear her saying, “I never doubted you would do this for a minute.”
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