Senior named Montgomery County Volunteer of the Year
Senior Elida Maria Vasquez Serrano receiving her award
November 9, 2015
Senior Elida Maria Vasquez Serrano was named the Student Volunteer of the Year by the Montgomery County Therapeutic Recreation Team on October 29.
Therapeutic Volunteer Coordinator Marco D’ottavi feels great about giving this award and thinks “[Serrano] is one of the best volunteers of all time.”
Vasquez was a mainstream companion where she worked with children with special needs. She wants “to study special [education] and [plans to] become an autism spectrum specialist” in the future.
Vasquez was happy about receiving this award. She only just started this summer, but it was the work she did when she volunteered that made the Recreation Team choose her for this award.
“I got a note in my fourth period that said ‘Lia come really quick during step at the Wellness Center,’ and I thought I was in trouble,” Vasquez said.
Vasquez received 157 hours from volunteering with Montgomery County Recreation but in total she has over 700 student service learning hours.
What Vasquez liked most about volunteering is that every time she works there she gets experience and she loves working with kids.
This is the first award the Recreation Team has ever given. D’ottavi said the award was well deserved because he “believes our volunteers are giving so much to our county and citizens so [this award] is something to give back.”
The Recreation Team was so impressed by the work Vasquez did this summer that they offered her a permanent job as a Recreation Assistant.
Just this year, Vasquez received another Volunteer of the Year Award from Family Services Inc. She is an official volunteer for them and does work from translating to tutoring elementary and middle school students throughout the week.
Vasquez plans to continue to do community service after she graduates. She is saving money as she works as a recreation assistant so she can have the opportunity to volunteer with a program in Dominican Republic called Amigos De Las Américas.
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