Oakton tutor honored for literacy efforts

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, along with Dennis DeRossett, executive director of the Illinois Press Association, recently honored Oakton Community College tutor Robert Boone as a 2013 Spotlight on Service Award winner.

The award recognizes outstanding volunteer tutors in Illinois literacy programs. Boone, of Glencoe, was one of only 10 tutors in the state to be acknowledged at a ceremony in the Illinois State Library.

“I am proud to recognize our outstanding volunteer tutors for helping students achieve their utmost potential,” White said. “I believe each of us should give something back to our neighbors and our communities, and these tutors are a wonderful example of the positive impact that comes from volunteerism.”

Since 1997, Boone has logged nearly 400 hours of volunteer tutoring at Oakton’s Skokie campus. He assists learners with creative writing and also provides assistance at the college’s Bridges to Academic Writing, a literacy program that prepares English as Second Language students for college through instruction in reading and writing.

Representatives of Oakton’s Volunteer in Teaching Adults (VITA) nominated Boone for the award, noting that he makes learning fun and provides extra help to students outside of the classroom through his “Conversation Lunches” in the cafeteria.

Boone received $200 from the IPA Foundation for Oakton’s literacy program, a plaque, and a personalized Illinois Blue Book, a comprehensive source of state government information.