Sue was nominated for this award by
another tireless neighborhood advocate—Steffanie Rosalez, the Cook Arts
Center’s Program Director. Steffanie’s nomination letter is a beautiful summary of Sue’s essential
work in the community as well as a testament to their mutual respect and
strong partnership. Here is that letter:
I am
writing this letter to nominate my colleague, Sue Garza, for the Christine
Nelson Professional Award. Through her work as Director of the Cook Library
Center, Sue has been instrumental in providing a safe and welcoming space for
youth and families in the Grandville Avenue neighborhood for almost ten years.
Even more importantly, Sue has a passion for empowering and serving others, and
that passion pushes her to go above and beyond just being an advocate for youth
in her profession – she is a genuine force for equality and education in her
everyday life.
Sue’s
daily professional activities include an incredibly wide range of programs and
services that allow children and families to have access to opportunities and
education. She implements and directs the typical library services that you’d
expect, but not in a way that a normal “librarian” would. When children and
families come in and need access to resources, Sue will provide the typical
services one might need (books, computers, help finding information), but then
on top of that she allows families to utilize her as a resource. She is always
willing to sit side by side with individuals to help them apply for jobs, learn
to read, get their homework done, and in any way she possibly can help them
reach their full potential.
Sue
also oversees all of the Cook Library Center’s programs, including Cook Library
Scholars, Cook Library Achievers, English as a Second Language (ESL) and
literacy classes, Juego en Español (a program for families with young toddlers
to speak in English and Spanish together), drop-in homework help, and more. Sue
is at the helm, leading all of these programs that are designed to support
youth and their families in a holistic and genuine way. Sue is the perfect
leader for these programs, as she genuinely believes in the potential of every
student and family and goes above and beyond her call of duty to support them
in their needs.
As if
that wasn’t enough, in her spare time Sue continues following her passion by
volunteering for the Literacy Center of West Michigan and SLD Read tutoring
adults and youth. She also serves on Grand Rapids Public Schools’ Parent
University committee (a group that works to provide parents of GRPS students
with tools and education to help their kids succeed in school), and she is a
Parent Action Leader (PAL) at her sons’ school. One moment I experienced that
was a true testament to Sue’s grassroots presence in the community was when,
upon entering the room for a meeting, a man recognized Sue and said, “Oh! Hi
Sue! I didn’t realize we were meeting with the Sue, who volunteered every
morning at my son’s school giving rides to students in bad weather and making
sure they got to school safely. It’s good to see you again!”
Thank
you so much for considering Sue as a recipient for this award. I cannot imagine
anyone who deserves it more than she does!
Sincerely,
Steffanie
Rosalez
Sue Garza (right) and Steffanie Rosalez do great work on Grandville Avenue
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