By Israr Rukun
Team Read has been one of the most formative leadership experiences of my life—though I will be the first to admit that I did not necessarily go into it with a heart of gold and a do-gooder’s need for righteousness. Instead, my initial reasons for joining leaned more toward the shallow. When I first applied, I was looking for something practical: a job that would look good for colleges and ideally did not involve too much stress. I already had some experience working with kids from volunteering at a daycare, so tutoring seemed manageable enough. My plan was simple: help a student read, play some word games, and quietly collect my paycheck. What I found instead was something far more challenging, but also all the more rewarding for it.
Early on in the program, I was matched with a student who had unique learning needs. Needs that did not quite respond to the typical strategies and games I had prepared. I remember feeling overwhelmed, unsure of how to reach him in a meaningful way. It would have been easy to just continue with the same routine, hoping something would eventually click, but I knew I owed more than that to my student. So, I made the decision to reach out to my site lead and advocate, not only for him, but for myself as a coach. I admitted that I did not have all the tools I needed, and I asked for support. My site lead was incredibly responsive. She was patient and encouraging and used her wealth of experience combined with my understanding of my students’ needs to provide thoughtful guidance. She helped me reflect on what was and was not working and develop strategies perfectly tailored to my students’ needs. That moment taught me something invaluable: leadership is not about having all the answers. It is about recognizing when you have hit your limit, being honest about it, and taking the initiative to grow from there.
There were also many days when my site lead was busy assisting other tutors, and I had to step up on my own. I had spent so much time with my student that I knew his challenges, his favorite stories, even the types of questions that sparked his interest. So, I began researching on my own time, searching for resources, creating custom activities, and even rewriting stories to read during our breaks to include the characters he liked best. I was not doing this because someone asked me to; I was doing it because I had grown to care about his progress and wanted to see him succeed. That kind of quiet, behind-the-scenes leadership, the kind that requires empathy and dedication, was something I never expected to develop through this job. However, it has stayed with me ever since, nonetheless.
Team Read transformed my idea of what leadership looks like. It does not always involve a title or a spotlight. Sometimes, it is quietly adapting in the background, showing up even when it gets hard, and putting in effort no one sees because someone else is counting on you. I learned how to lead with patience and empathy, reflect on my own growth, and take initiative not for recognition but because it matters.
Truthfully, being a role model to my kids was not just about reading comprehension or sentence fluency. It was about presence. It was about showing a student that someone believed in them enough to keep showing up, keep adapting, and keep caring, session after session, no matter how tricky the words got. I never imagined that trying to explain a plot twist in a second-grade mystery book over Zoom would teach me about resilience, but here we are.
Programs like Team Read do not just serve students. They change the people who participate. I entered as a reluctant, somewhat passive student looking for a side job, and I left as someone who sees leadership as a responsibility to others and a commitment to growth. I carry those lessons with me now. Not just in future jobs, but also in how I show up right now in my classrooms, teams, and community. Team Read did not just give me the chance to lead. It gave me the desire to lead, and that is something I will never forget.
Israr Rukun is a 2024 graduate and former Team Read coach. She currently studies engineering at The University of Washington.