Melania G.

Hi, I’m Melania Gill from Manhattan, New York. I am a senior attending the Lycée Français de New York. Having gone to a bilingual French school my whole life, I learned the importance of exposure to more than one language early on. I am so grateful for this and so happy that SET has taken the initiative to give people the opportunity to learn English -- it’s a powerful tool. Since I started volunteering in October 2022, the students have never failed to amaze me with their dedication to progress and their willingness to speak. I understand it is not always the easiest to communicate in a language that is not your own. And it has been rewarding on both ends: it warms my heart to hear the kids share their own cultures with me as we build our connections.

At the beginning of 2023, I got the idea of wanting to help SET continue their expansion efforts. After discussions with the SET executives, I reached out to schools in countries all over the world and finally connected with a school in Kyiv, Ukraine who was just as eager as I was to integrate them into the program. Ever since, we have been working closely with one of their English teachers to run sessions with the school and practice speaking English in a way that feels immersive, engaging, and most importantly, fun.