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Gabrielle Read-Hess
gabrielle@hub25.org or g.c.readhess@gmail.com
I graduated from Cornell College in 2007 with a BA in art and Spanish. After that I was a pretty stellar barista for two years and volunteered 
with several art organizations/programs/centers on the side.
My greatest strength as a VISTA is: My enthusiasm for sharing art with young people.
My greatest accomplishment as a VISTA: Helping Matthew 25’s Music Mentoring program begin in the recently reopened Taylor school and see it grow from the goal of 8 students to 16.
My projects: I am the program coordinator for Matthew 25’s Music Mentoring program, meaning I provide all the administrative support and will be planning for its sustainability. The Music Mentoring program is held each Saturday morning at Taylor elementary and pairs students with an instructor for free one-on-one lessons. I also work with M25 to help develop a youth arts group and venue. Still in the beginning stages, the goal is to create a safe, relaxing space where youth and community members can hang out, as well as provide a venue for the artistic projects created by the group.
How I build capacity: Through the Music Mentoring program, our children are not only building a valuable, positive relationship with their instructor/mentor, something many of them lack at home, but also they are learning a musical instrument. Music is a mental exercise that requires self-confidence and conviction before it can be translated into sounds from an instrument, and studies have shown that music students of all ages consistently outscore non-musical peers on tests measuring reading ability, and display significantly greater aptitude for spatial-temporal skills needed to comprehend math and science topics.
Fun fact about me: I have a twin brother and he’s a foot taller than me.