Jillian Funk, Springfield College

Jillian Funk is a junior majoring in Youth Development with a minor in Coaching and Business Management. In her first year as a Springfield College student, Jillian became the site leader for the Elias Brookings School BLAST Program and continues to serve in this capacity. The Elias Brookings School was identified in 2010 as a Level 4 school. A Level 4 school is an “under-performing” school and is low performing on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) over a four-year period in English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, and Science. The BLAST after-school program was created in an effort to help students in grades three through five to provide tutoring and mentoring services. Jillian played an important role in helping these students score significantly higher on the state standardized tests in her first year as site leader and her impressive work continues. As site leader for this program, she is responsible for mentoring and tutoring students as well as supervising other Springfield College volunteers by helping them to create daily activities and schedules for the program. Jillian has been blessed with a wonderful gift of being able to reach our youth for positive results.