April 9, 2012
Dear Selection Committee,
It is my pleasure to recommend Anne Schuschke to you. She was a great volunteer educator at the Zootown Arts Community Center in Missoula, Montana (ZACC). As a member of the ZACC team and our volunteer family, Anne saw the bigger picture and helped where needed. She was thoughtful, reflective, and creative. Anne was kind, inventive, and entrepreneurial towards her efforts helping with ZACC projects in its early years.
During her time at the ZACC from March to May of 2009, she assisted and led sessions with our afterschool art program. Her duties included getting the supplies ready, picking the kids up at the bus stop, giving snacks and assisting with art lessons. She worked one-on-one to push children’s creativity and with the group to explain artistic concepts and skills. Her lessons varied from hand- building pottery, painting, creating collages, building instruments, and sketching. We enjoyed her energy and enthusiasm that she brought to the students as well as being a positive roll model for our students.
Only two years old, the ZACC requires internship and volunteer efforts to ensure our doors stay open. We treat our volunteers such as Anne as staff and encourage them to use their experience as a launch pad to gain skills they wish to acquire for future jobs as professional development. Anne developed and implemented a few art education programs and increased our relationship with parents and children and the larger Missoula community. Her position at the arts center met the need for community arts education, involvement, and human services in a low-income district of Missoula.
Filling a huge need in the community, the ZACC is located in an arts and cultural neighborhood and at times the center is packed with parents, children, and artists all working on projects and needing help. Anne worked with a wide variety of learners (adults, non profit organizations, students with disabilities, children, teenagers, and gifted artists). I observed her helping the public on their community building projects and find her to have the skills of very experienced teacher. Anne greeted our artists and public with open arms and attitude. She was always positive and energized no matter the circumstances of the day. Having her at the ZACC to teach children and work alongside our artists proved essential to the success of our programs.
Anne Schuschke is one those people you hope to hire and retain for as long as you can because she has the natural skills to execute whatever is placed in front of her. She will be an asset to any school, program, or position for which she applies.
Please call the center and speak with any staff member or myself to hear more about Anne and her involvement with the community art center in Missoula.
Sincerely,
Hanna Hannan Founder/Arts and Programming Director
America Reads, America Counts -
