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| Thomas
J. Fisher Governor's Non-Profit Volunteer of the Year 2005 |
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“I always remember the song by Neil Diamond, ‘Coming to America.’ The stories of the immigrant
and refugee populations I work with are amazing: their ‘adventures’ in coming to America .
I have everything; they leave everything (sic) they have ever known, behind.”
- Tom Fisher, March ’06.
On Friday, April 21, 2006 Tom Fisher was honored as Governor Richardson’s Non-Profit Volunteer of the Year for his work at Catholic Charities. Tom approached Catholic Charities less than a year ago. He wanted to “pay back some” for the help he had received in his life. He had tutored in math and science throughout his college career and had always thought there might be a GED student who could use his help. Tom has not, as yet, used his math or science skills with our students but, he has been introduced to a whole new world: tutoring in English as a Second Language. When told that Catholic Charities could use his help with our (ESL) students, Tom shrugged and said he’d give it a try. The next training for ESL tutors was in Santa Fe: two consecutive Saturdays, 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM, which Tom gladly attended. “No problem.” Immediately after finishing the training, he was back on Catholic Charities’ doorstep ready for his first assignment—one-to-one tutoring of two brothers, who were refugees from Cuba. After that, we needed help putting together the first Volunteer Tutor Program Newsletter. Tom designed the layout and wrote an article about his experience with tutoring. When an ESL instructor needed help with our refugee computer classes, Tom signed-on and began working twice a week in those two-hour classes. With tremendous grace and good-humor, Tom has taken on his latest project: teaching English literacy skills to a small group of immigrant ESL students from Mexico and Palestine . In interviews with several of Tom’s students, he was repeatedly characterized as “patient,” “sensitive,” and “makes me feel good about the work I’m doing.” Tom Fisher retired in 2004 after a thirty-five year career with the Indian Health Services, U.S. Public Health Service and Department of Health and Human Services. He was responsible for the design, implementation, and operation of all of the computers and networking systems throughout the country. He works now on an “as-needed” consulting basis. Tom’s family moved from Alabama to New Mexico when Tom was two and a half. He attended St. Mary’s school and graduated from Valley High School, then attended college at St. Joseph’s on the Rio Grande/University of Albuquerque (the present day St. Pius H.S.). He completed his Bachelor of Science major in Mathematics and minors in physics and computer science at the University of New Mexico. Tom’s volunteering extends to other organizations, as well. He is Board President of the Albuquerque Speech, Language and Hearing Center and volunteers two mornings a week at the Balloon Museum. He is also a balloon pilot and FAA certified instructor. Tom Fisher’s energy and enthusiasm are infectious. He inspires his students to reach for their goals which often include better jobs, higher education, and mentoring their children. As Tom recently wrote in an article for our Volunteer Tutor Program newsletter: “Well here I am in my 8 th week of tutoring English as a Second Language and I am having a fantastic time assisting other individuals in learning the English language.” Tom Fisher has volunteered 135 hours since starting in October, 2005. |
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