At Millmont Elementary School in Reading, about 10 Alvernia University students work at the for the Reading Youth Initiative- an Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and other corporate philanthropy supported after-school program, helping about two dozen first and second graders in small groups with homework and arts and crafts projects. But perhaps even more important, the Golden Wolves are modeling service to community for their young charges.
“I’m a huge fan,” said Jay Mahoney, ’10, principal of Glenside Elementary School. “Alvernia students did all the heavy lifting. You could see the elementary kids really loved these [Alvernia] kids and vice versa. There was a real connection.”
“Research shows that kids learn best from teachers or people that they admire,” he continued. “The kids involved in that program turned out, from my observation, better prepared to work with peers in the classroom. It also helped academically.”
Now, Mahoney would like to bring the Reading Youth Initiative (RYI), based at the Holleran Center for Community and Global Engagement, to Glenside. Currently, he runs an after-school program with staff focused on reading. He’d like to expand it to mathematics but the school’s small staff makes it difficult. Alvernia students would make all the difference, Mahoney said.
“We have a lot of students who have a lot of needs,” he said. “I’d have Alvernia students really work on math with our younger students.”
Begun in 2006, RYI has reached more than 1,600 Reading School District youth from kindergarten through 12th grade. Besides Millmont, Alvernia students also get experiential learning at Tyson-Schoener Elementary School and Southwest and Southern middle schools. Last academic year, 35 undergraduate student workers mentored 68 pupils, helping them make healthy choices and instilling a life-long love of learning. The initiative also supports a summer camp at Alvernia and a variety of cultural activities that include museum visits, sporting events and field trips. Additional Alvernia students visit Reading High School, focusing on career advice and help with college applications through Reading Collegiate Scholars Afternoon Program (RCSP).
From kindergartners to high school seniors and onward to college and beyond, RYI is looking to enrich these young people’s education in the hopes they will pay it back to their communities. Alvernia students, of course, also benefit.
“We’re an anchor institution in the community,” said Alyssa Slade, former Holleran Center Senior Director. “By investing in our community, you’re developing those around us into these civic leaders.… At the same time, our students are getting these real-world experiences. Whatever their major is on campus, they’re applying it to these real situations.”
The college-readiness program RCSP, established in 2014 at Reading High School, expanded to Berks County in 2022. Reading high schoolers meet after school with Alvernia undergraduates to discuss what it’s like to go to college and help with the application process. RCSP has helped more than 1,200 students, said Kirsy Rosario, manager of the program and student development. Those who attend Alvernia receive support in various ways such as a dedicated staff member, college resources, one-on-one meetings.
Each academic year, about 16 to 20 students receive the scholarship, with 93 percent of them first-generation college goers. Rosario said. Since the program’s inception, Alvernia has assisted 177 scholars, 54 of whom have graduated. For the Spring 2025 semester, 25 percent of the scholars made the Dean’s List.
“From Day One, you can see how anxious and excited they are to have this opportunity,” she said. “For many this is a dream.”
By Lini S. Kadaba
