Program Spotlight
Stories of how our community is learning, growing and achieving goals.
Finding a Welcoming Connection: Meet Baidy Diaw
Photo credit: Jamie Kallestad, Watertown Free Public Library
When Baidy Diaw moved to Watertown, he immediately felt at home with Project Literacy. “I really love the community because they are so helpful, and kind of remind me of where I come from.” With his busy schedule working in the restaurant industry and raising a family with young children, Baidy found that the flexibility of one-on-one tutoring with a volunteer was a great fit for him.
Baidy also meshed well with the sense of openness and connection he got from his tutors and fellow learners. The spirit of generosity he encountered reminded him of the close networks he had in Senegal. “I feel that way about everyone I meet, you know, learners and tutors, like, everyone is very heartfelt, committed to what they’re doing, connecting with each other.”
Baidy approached tutoring with some specific goals: preparing for the citizenship test and, later, passing the firefighter’s exam. He worked with two different tutors on each of these goals. After working with Nancy, he passed the citizenship test in Fall 2025. “She gave me a lot of tools, a lot of vocabulary, and then I improved my English. I learned more about the history…and the whole story of the United States. And it was so exciting.”
With the help of another tutor, Jennifer, he also started the firefighter exam process, completing the physical test and sitting for the written part. It’s no surprise that firefighting appeals to Baidy. He has a background as a professional soccer player, and service to the community means a lot to him. When we sat down to talk, he was planning to host family and friends for a Thanksgiving meal. He’s always looking for ways to help out.
Baidy also takes every opportunity to advocate involvement with Project Literacy, especially for new learners who might need to build their confidence, knowing from his experience how warm and helpful the community’s welcome can be. “It’s special. You can’t find it everywhere.”
It was here in class that I found reason to believe that I can learn.
The classes are wonderful. Thank you for making dreams come true.
~ Rosiane, Project Literacy learner
Growing Community: Meet Myselie Pierre
If you’ve been to a Project Literacy gathering lately, you probably recognize Myselie Pierre. She is often one of the first welcoming faces that participants see when they start classes or attend special events.
High school senior, Myselie, trilingual in Haitian Creole, French and English, first sought out the Watertown Free Public Library and Project Literacy when she was a sophomore. She was looking for resources to continue her own language studies. Over the past two years, she has taken on progressively more responsibility as a paid part-time staff assistant to the program, serving both as office assistant and classroom assistant.
In her very first semester working with the program, Myselie supported adult learners in a mixed level beginner drop-in class on Wednesday nights. She built on this experience and moved on to support Beginner 1 and 2 adult classes in the evening at Hosmer and in the summer at Moxley. Myselie sought out early elementary education experience as well through internship and community service opportunities with the Watertown Public Schools and brought this to her work with families at Project Literacy. Last summer, she led the teen volunteer group providing childcare for Project Literacy’s Watertown Parents Class. This year she has continued with adult learners, providing both instructional and childcare support.
Myselie’s presence and skill as a leader and community advocate reaches beyond the Project Literacy classroom. She served as a roundtable facilitator at the Anti-Bias Coalition’s “Summit for Youth and the Future,” and spoke at the 2025 MLK, Jr. Unity Breakfast.
Most recently, she shared her experiences of belonging, identity and resilience at the Community Storytelling night at the Watertown Free Public Library, where she spoke
Photo courtesy Myselie Pierre.
powerfully about her and her family’s journeys and resilience. Myselie introduced herself as, “a woman who has lived in three countries, not by choice, but for safety and guarding of my future.”
From the point of view of her friends at Project Literacy, Myselie’s future looks bright. Janet Saied said, “It’s been extraordinary watching Myselie grow these last couple of years. She’s constantly challenging herself whether it is choosing new challenges at work, trying a new sport or club at school, or exploring new opportunities that bring her to a different level. I’m incredibly excited to see where she will be in 10 years time. I know she’ll be making a positive impact on this world because she’s already done so much for Watertown.”
Myselie’s energy and commitment help our community thrive.
Teaching is Learning and Learning is Teaching: Meet Abbey K.
Abbey K, an interior designer and former elementary school teacher, reached out to Project Literacy last year. Seeing how immigrants were being treated, and feeling a connection with her own heritage and identity, she said “...I have to do something to help.” She saw teaching as her strength, so she volunteered and quickly accepted Janet’s request to lead a beginner class, taking charge of 10 students two days later.
Her approach to teaching is hands-on and student-centered. Her in-person interactive classes use games, humor, repetition, and movement to enhance comprehension, reading and speaking fluency. Leading a group of learners from diverse backgrounds such as China, Afghanistan, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Brazil and Nicaragua, Abbey worked to overcome different interaction styles, pronunciation barriers, and education experience. Two of the students in her class wanted additional help so they now have an additional weekly tutoring session with her.
In addition to English language learning, Abbey has had success with helping students develop organization and thinking skills. While teaching adults and elementary school children are very different, both situations require tailoring lessons to accommodate individuals with different needs and abilities so that everyone can learn.
Teaching at Project Literacy has reignited a long-held identity and passion for Abbey, balancing volunteer teaching with a full-time job. “We’re having a really good time. I’m getting so much out of it,” she says. She treats challenges as chances to learn and innovate, saying, “Every week there’s something I don’t know—so I figure it out.”
