Lemmon Valley Elementary School kindergarteners recently welcomed some special guests: six Sierra Nevada Job Corps students loaded with books and ready to share.

The event, organized by staff members Latisha Assiewe and Christina Schueuning, celebrated Read Across America Day and Read To Lead.

Christina welcomed the opportunity to be a part of it.

“Our students consider themselves fortunate to be involved in such a meaningful cause, reading out loud and entertaining probably the nicest audience around.”

Sierra Nevada Job Corps student Sandura King said,  “The kids all thanked me when I finished reading.  That was so great, and it made me feel good inside. I’ll come back anytime to do this again.”

 Student Justin Villanueva had an even stronger response.

“Awesome sauce is how I would describe those little kids. I haven’t been in a kindergarten class for 16 years, so this brought back a lot of great memories. I read my group The Sad Princess, but they were actually happy about the way it turned out, and I interacted with them as they asked me questions. I’d love to return and stay longer next time.”

Lemmon Valley Principal Mike Lansing applauded their efforts.

“Lemmon Valley Elementary school was happy to host students from Sierra Nevada Job Corps. Lemmon Valley is an at-risk community with many of our students living with poverty, single-parent households, and frequent incarceration. Many of our students do not have positive role models to look up to and can, at times, not relate to the adults in our building. Having our students work with the volunteers gave them hope and a strong message that they too can succeed in a challenging academic world. We welcome the volunteer services of the Sierra Nevada Job Corps students, and we were happy to have them as a part of our Lemmon Valley family for a day.”