Welcome to LIFT!
25 Years of Impact: Elizabeth Bennett's Journey as a LIFT Volunteer
Elizabeth (Liz) Bennett
25 years of service to the LIFT Program
Before becoming a LIFT volunteer I had a lot of different jobs in a lot of different places:
I taught school in Slidell, La. for a year after graduating from Mississippi Southern College in Hattiesburg, MS. Then I went to an airline training school in Los Angeles and got a stewardess job in Manhatten with Transcontintal Airlines for several months before leaving for New Orleans to fly for Capitol Airlines. On one of my flights I met the editor of The Times Picayune newspaper in New Orleans who several weeks later hired me as a reporter for his paper. About four years later a fellow reporter and I moved to New York to try our luck in the big city. It was a tough place to live and I got fired from two jobs before deciding to move to Houston, which I'd visited several times and liked. It was here that I got my longest-lasting job before joining LIFT: Reporting and writing for The Houston Post for 24 years until it went out of business in 1995. It was a job I loved and I hated losing it.
But now I've got a job I also love and have been doing for even more than 24 years: Teaching people to speak English in the LIFT (Literacy Initiative For Today) program. I'm a volunteer, as are all the other teachers along with our director, David Godwin. Our three-hour classes are held on Saturdays in the spring and fall semesters at The University of St. Thomas in Houston. I have taught almost all levels of classes we offer but I feel most comfortable teaching beginning conversation.
In my conversation classes my students sometimes tell stories about terrible things that have happened to them or their families back home in Mexico or other countries. Hearing such stories makes me feel sorry for what they have endured, but also grateful that I'm in a position to help them. And helping them speak English is a first step for many foreign students adjusting to life in a new country.
Our students are so anxious to learn English they drive to class from as far away as Baytown, Brookshire, Navasota and Willis, among many other places. Many don't have cars -- one student had to take three different buses to get to class --- and a number of others continue classes after they reach their goal. One young woman could barely speak a word of English when she signed up for LIFT. Today she has completed intermediate conversation class, gone through two pregnancies and can converse comfortably in her new language.
One of the most satisfying things about being a LIFT volunteeer is the gratitude of my students. They are constantly thanking me, both in class and afterwards, and especially at graduation ceremonies at the end of each semester. They bring me gifts, ask to be photographed with me, and give me thank-you notes with such touching sentiments as this: "Thank you teacher for be patient and for help us to learn english."
Nothing I've ever done has made me feel so appreciated and so convinced that what I'm doing is important -- and that's why I'm still doing it after more than a quarter of a century.
25 years of service to the LIFT Program
Before becoming a LIFT volunteer I had a lot of different jobs in a lot of different places:
I taught school in Slidell, La. for a year after graduating from Mississippi Southern College in Hattiesburg, MS. Then I went to an airline training school in Los Angeles and got a stewardess job in Manhatten with Transcontintal Airlines for several months before leaving for New Orleans to fly for Capitol Airlines. On one of my flights I met the editor of The Times Picayune newspaper in New Orleans who several weeks later hired me as a reporter for his paper. About four years later a fellow reporter and I moved to New York to try our luck in the big city. It was a tough place to live and I got fired from two jobs before deciding to move to Houston, which I'd visited several times and liked. It was here that I got my longest-lasting job before joining LIFT: Reporting and writing for The Houston Post for 24 years until it went out of business in 1995. It was a job I loved and I hated losing it.
But now I've got a job I also love and have been doing for even more than 24 years: Teaching people to speak English in the LIFT (Literacy Initiative For Today) program. I'm a volunteer, as are all the other teachers along with our director, David Godwin. Our three-hour classes are held on Saturdays in the spring and fall semesters at The University of St. Thomas in Houston. I have taught almost all levels of classes we offer but I feel most comfortable teaching beginning conversation.
In my conversation classes my students sometimes tell stories about terrible things that have happened to them or their families back home in Mexico or other countries. Hearing such stories makes me feel sorry for what they have endured, but also grateful that I'm in a position to help them. And helping them speak English is a first step for many foreign students adjusting to life in a new country.
Our students are so anxious to learn English they drive to class from as far away as Baytown, Brookshire, Navasota and Willis, among many other places. Many don't have cars -- one student had to take three different buses to get to class --- and a number of others continue classes after they reach their goal. One young woman could barely speak a word of English when she signed up for LIFT. Today she has completed intermediate conversation class, gone through two pregnancies and can converse comfortably in her new language.
One of the most satisfying things about being a LIFT volunteeer is the gratitude of my students. They are constantly thanking me, both in class and afterwards, and especially at graduation ceremonies at the end of each semester. They bring me gifts, ask to be photographed with me, and give me thank-you notes with such touching sentiments as this: "Thank you teacher for be patient and for help us to learn english."
Nothing I've ever done has made me feel so appreciated and so convinced that what I'm doing is important -- and that's why I'm still doing it after more than a quarter of a century.
Registration
Registration Spring semester
Saturday January 21 9-12 First day of class Saturday February 11 9-1 pm |
Classes
Multi level classes are available, to learn more about our classes click the button below.
|
LIFT Volunteer
LIFT volunteers make a tremendous difference in the lives of needy families in our community. Volunteers teach adult students how to speak English and empower people to learn the skills necessary to get a new or better job.
|
The Literacy Initiative Today (LIFT) Program Provides Free Classes to UST Employees
Learning a new language in a new country is challenging. Just ask employees of the University of St. Thomas Food Service or Facilities Operations, who have participated in an English as a second language program called LIFT or Literacy Initiative for Today. Now offered on campus at 3815 Mt. Vernon through the Center for Cultural Interchange, the program has partnered with UST since 1991 when it was founded by two St. Thomas students – Henry Morin and Michael Leavitt ’88. Read more
Literacy Initiative for Today (LIFT)
University of St. Thomas
3800 Montrose Blvd.
Houston, Texas 77006
L.I.F.T. Vision Statement
Social justice and outreach to the community.
L.I.F.T. Mission Statement
Engage students to learn to speak, read and write English by providing comprehensive educational experiences and promoting cultural understanding.
This is the thirty-first year anniversary of the LIFT and it is still going strong.
This is one of the few ESL Programs in Houston that offers classes on Saturday. The program offers a morning and afternoon session. The program has 8 levels of English plus 4 specialized classes, e.g., Pronunciation, Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Conversation. This program was established in 1991 as literacy and social justice program which has evolved into an ESL program. It is a 10-week Saturday program with two sessions per Saturday run strictly by volunteers. This program is for adults 18 years +
LIFT provides the tools that students need to learn and practice English in a warm, encouraging setting.
Each session has over 400 students attending their classes to learn to speak English and improve their lives. Volunteer tutors come from diverse backgrounds, ranging from students to professionals who are dedicated to teaching and working with learners. Volunteer tutors and learners meet every Saturday for two 3 hour sessions of classroom instruction on the campus of the University of St. Thomas. It is one of the few English as a Second Language (ESL) programs available on weekends. During these sessions both tutor and learner benefit from the learning process. The tutor shares his/her knowledge while gaining insight about the learner's culture and experiences.
A former student's comments about the program: L.I.F.T. program has encouraged so many students like us, to improve our abilities in learning English as a Second Language.
In my particular case, this program gave to me the courage and determination in my decision to register and attend Houston Community College to work on an associate degree in Accounting; I’m almost finish, and probably during Christmas time I’ll become the first college graduated member of my family. The unselfish sharing of their time that our teachers have dedicated spreading their knowledge, has to be compensated with our recognition to their great commitment.
University of St. Thomas
3800 Montrose Blvd.
Houston, Texas 77006
L.I.F.T. Vision Statement
Social justice and outreach to the community.
L.I.F.T. Mission Statement
Engage students to learn to speak, read and write English by providing comprehensive educational experiences and promoting cultural understanding.
This is the thirty-first year anniversary of the LIFT and it is still going strong.
This is one of the few ESL Programs in Houston that offers classes on Saturday. The program offers a morning and afternoon session. The program has 8 levels of English plus 4 specialized classes, e.g., Pronunciation, Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Conversation. This program was established in 1991 as literacy and social justice program which has evolved into an ESL program. It is a 10-week Saturday program with two sessions per Saturday run strictly by volunteers. This program is for adults 18 years +
LIFT provides the tools that students need to learn and practice English in a warm, encouraging setting.
Each session has over 400 students attending their classes to learn to speak English and improve their lives. Volunteer tutors come from diverse backgrounds, ranging from students to professionals who are dedicated to teaching and working with learners. Volunteer tutors and learners meet every Saturday for two 3 hour sessions of classroom instruction on the campus of the University of St. Thomas. It is one of the few English as a Second Language (ESL) programs available on weekends. During these sessions both tutor and learner benefit from the learning process. The tutor shares his/her knowledge while gaining insight about the learner's culture and experiences.
A former student's comments about the program: L.I.F.T. program has encouraged so many students like us, to improve our abilities in learning English as a Second Language.
In my particular case, this program gave to me the courage and determination in my decision to register and attend Houston Community College to work on an associate degree in Accounting; I’m almost finish, and probably during Christmas time I’ll become the first college graduated member of my family. The unselfish sharing of their time that our teachers have dedicated spreading their knowledge, has to be compensated with our recognition to their great commitment.
|
|