This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Texas chapter.
When it comes to playing cards, it’s important to have strategy, luck, and an ace. When it comes to starting and growing a non-profit organization to teach literacy to youth, it’s important to have diligence, ambition, and an ace. Luckily for Reading Aces, its ace is its founder, Brette Machiorlette. Since 2009, Brette has been working to improve the reading, vocabulary and comprehension skills of over 300 elementary school youth. Currently working within the state of Texas, Brette has plans to expand on a national scale. Oh yeah, did we mention she’s a freshman? (It’s okay, we feel inadequate too.) We chatted with Brette and learned about the aces in her perfect hand!
Name: Brette Machiorlette
Year: Freshman
Major: Plan II Honors and Business
Her Campus Texas: What inspired you to start Reading Aces, and how did you get started?
Brette Machiorlette: Literacy is a fundamental component to every child’s life and building on these skills not only improves all school subjects, but also builds self-esteem while breeding more inquisitive and creative individuals. Sadly, many children do not grow up in supportive environments or have access to early literacy tools. For this reason, I wanted to make a difference. I used my connections from the Houston Parks and Recreation Department to attract large audiences of children and solicited volunteers from local high schools to participate, and the program seemed to flourish from there.
HCTX: What has been the biggest challenge?
BM: The biggest challenge has been recruiting enough volunteers to attend each week. Ideally, we want a 1:1 volunteer to participant ratio, but with extracurricular, sports, and other commitments, it is often difficult for teenagers to volunteer. However, once I am able to convince volunteers to come, it is usually easy to get them to return. They realize what a fun and rewarding experience this is.
HCTX: What are your future plans for Reading Aces?
BM: I hope to continue our Reading Aces expansion and ultimately be a national organization. We have recently expanded to our first Austin location and I hope to have at least two more running by next fall.
HCTX: What are the top five most played songs on your iPod?
1. Give Me Love by Ed Sheeran
2. Your Biggest Mistake by Ellie Goulding
3. Ships in the Night by Mat Kearney
4. Fast Car by Tracy Chapman
5. Son’s Gonna Rise by Citizen Cope
HCTX: Tiff’s Treats or Amy’s Ice Cream?
BM: Tiff’s Treats
HCTX: Any other deets UT collegiettes should know about?
BM: We recently signed a corporate sponsor. Cram Crew is Houston’s leading one-on-one college prep testing and college advising service, and we are very excited about the new opportunities this collaboration will offer. Cram Crew will help us recruit new teens and these volunteers will benefit from participating in Reading Aces, and will now be able to earn discounts for SAT and ACT tutoring. It’s great for everyone!