Dear PAIR Supporter,
We hope, from wherever in the world you read this, that
you are staying cool this summer as you navigate new adventures in your academic, professional, and personal pursuits.
School’s Out for Summer—but PAIR is Still in Session!
Our summer program was a huge success, and a whole lot of fun for everyone involved. Through the efforts of three summer program managers, interns, and dedicated volunteers, we were able to triple both the number of program hours and students served compared to last summer!
The goals of the PAIR summer program are to provide a safe and fun environment, prevent learning erosion, and promote English skills and friendship among students. This year, we were able to serve close to 60 students from both the Fondren Southwest and Gulfton neighborhoods. The program was held at the Baker-Ripley Neighborhood Center, which generously donated its beautiful, new facilities, as well as transportation.
See more summer program pictures on our Facebook page.
Daily sessions included social activities, English exercises, arts and crafts, and recreational games—the kids’ favorite is soccer, of course! We were able take the students on four field trips to the Museum of Fine Arts, the Holocaust Museum, Brazos Bend State Park, and the Museum of Natural Science. Thank you to our partners at Houston Chinese Church and Al Amaanah Refugee Services for use of their vans for field trip transportation.
And special thanks to our summer program managers for all of their hard work!
Fatima Raza, ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs program
studying international studies
at Emory University
Sophie Bonifaz, Rice Program in Poverty, Justice, and Human Capabilities
studying linguistics
at Rice University
Mariela Rubio, Rappaport Service Scholarship
studying government
at UT Austin
Award-winning Volunteers
We are incredibly humbled to have two of our outstanding Rice student leaders, Ann Chou and Teresa Yeh, honored
as 2011 Mayor’s Volunteer Houston Award recipients. The Mayor’s Volunteer Houston Awards were
first awarded in 1984 and “honor individuals who do remarkable volunteer work that makes Houston a better place to live,” according to the Volunteer Houston website. We nominated Ann and Teresa for their incredible and consistent commitment to our organization and to PAIR's refugee students. They go above and beyond what is expected of them and are always
full of creative ideas to enhance and grow our programs. At a luncheon on May 5 at the Hilton Americas, Ann and Teresa received their award from
Mayor Annise Parker, a Rice alum herself. You can see the full ceremony
here. Ann and Teresa are on stage with the mayor at 19:00.
The Mayor’s Award garnered press for PAIR in both the
Houston Chronicle and
Rice News.
Ryan Aguirre, one of our community volunteers, was honored with the ExxonMobil Volunteer Spirit Award. Ryan was recognized at the ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program kick-off event June 2 at the Children’s Museum. In accepting his award, he spoke before representatives from 60 local nonprofit organizations about his experience with PAIR and the importance of working with young refugees.
Ryan is an exceptional volunteer and mentor to our students. He has been present at every M&T session, twice weekly, without fail since he started volunteering with PAIR last November. He attends extra events and field trips for his students. Ryan takes a genuine interest in the students he works with, creating his own tailored activities for them, as well as informing PAIR staff about additional educational opportunities for our students. Ryan has also been instrumental in starting a community volunteer chapter. Ryan’s dedication to PAIR and our students is remarkable and we feel extremely lucky to have him.
Ryan with the PAIR team after accepting his award
PAIR ♥s Our Volunteers
This spring, PAIR recognized and thanked our graduating Rice PAIR officers: Christine Bohne, Chengwei Peng, Kristin Lloyd, Lisa Tseggay, Kathryn Camero, and Krishna Sajja. These volunteers and leaders have been a great asset to this organization and will be missed. We know that each of you will do great things and hope that you will look back at your memories of PAIR with joy and pride.
Two special volunteers,
Kate Pinkerton and
Cecilia Cai, were bestowed with Above and Beyond awards for their extraordinary efforts to help both students and the organization succeed.
Kate volunteers with M&T and attended every summer session to maintain her relationship with her
students. She constantly provides PAIR with new ideas on how it can continue expanding and improving. Kate was also a key component in the success of this year’s spring benefit. She reached out to local companies for in-kind donations, and at the event, Kate was a fantastic example to guests of why PAIR is impactful and how PAIR has been able to expand so rapidly.
Cecilia can be credited with the success of a major expansion goal for PAIR. In her time with us, she has exhibited exceptional skills in leadership, organization, and
motivation by leading the UH PAIR chapter to creating and running its own pilot program at Las Americas Middle School. This past year, she was simultaneously the president of the UH PAIR chapter, the M&T Las Americas program coordinator, and a volunteer for College Counseling. Cecilia has never failed to push the envelope with clever ideas, unique goals, and her never-failing ability to surpass PAIR’s expectations of her.
The following volunteers were also acknowledged for their exceptional effort and commitment to their programs:
M&T at Fondren: Ariel Chen, Ian Campbell, Olyver Yau, Emma Welch, Jemina Bouma, Joanne Wang
M&T at Las Americas: Mindy Pham, Cassie Gianni, Kelly Comeaux
Saturday Sessions: Alexa Li, Chandni Kaushik, Cara Fullerton
College Counseling: Renuka Rege, Fernando Otero
Saturday Sessions Graduation
Participants in the Saturday Sessions program concluded the year with a graduation ceremony honoring their achievement. It was an emotional culmination for both students and volunteers, but PAIR will continue to serve these students through our other programs. The event can best be described in pictures (see more on
Facebook):
Career Exploration Day
In April, our College Counseling 
students attended a Career Day at Rice sponsored by the National Council of Jewish Women. NCJW generously provided transportation and food for the students and organized 20 speakers from different fields to talk to the students about their professions and the steps to follow their career paths. It was a valuable experience for the students to learn more about the careers they are considering, as well as new ones they never knew existed.
Newsletter - Summer 2011
