Partners for Progress: Elisabeth Austin

Through her service-learning course, personal volunteer efforts, and a lasting partnership with our community-based literacy program, Dr. Elisabeth Austin has transformed countless lives - positively impacting both Literacy NRV students and those at Virginia Tech.

An associate professor of Spanish at VT, Elisabeth launched her service to Literacy NRV in 2018 as a volunteer tutor, meeting weekly to help a Blacksburg Spanish-speaking woman to learn English. 

The same year, Literacy NRV became one of the many organizations to benefit from the university student volunteerism fostered through Dr. Elisabeth Austin’s VT service-learning course.

Since then, Elisabeth’s Spanish students have helped Literacy NRV to overcome communication obstacles and have provided critical educational services and advocacy for local adult learners who are native Spanish speakers. 

Staff members Blake and Brittany (left) met with Elisabeth earlier this year for a Fall semester planning meeting

More than 60 of Elisabeth’s VT students have worked with both adults and children in Literacy NRV’s family literacy program, provided one-on-one adult tutoring, served as ESOL classroom leaders and assistants, and provided key translation services.

Many of her students have continued to volunteer with Literacy NRV beyond the scope of their VT commitment, and some have gone on to employment in the field. 

“I love to partner with Literacy NRV for many reasons, “said Elisabeth. “In part, because you guys provide a great model of an organization that pivots to meet community needs. In a practical sense, working with you also gives my students the opportunity to participate meaningfully as they assist with the English and other literacy skills classes. My students consistently comment that they enjoy the structure of the training you give them and the classes you run, and that they develop meaningful relationships with many of the students they work with.” 

“A big thank you for all that you do at Literacy NRV!!! You are truly an inspiration. Every semester my students come away impressed and wishing there were more of you in the world. I totally agree,” added Elisabeth. 

While Literacy NRV’s students are learning new English skills through this partnership, VT’s students are learning about more than teaching, explained Elisabeth. 

“My students have reflected on things like learning about the complexity of politics, both in the U.S. and abroad, as a non-binary system; they have learned about the hardships or family reasons that brought some of their partners to the U.S., and developed empathy for experiences they had only ever heard on the news before; and they have also reflected on the inequalities baked into many of our systems (schools, justice, and many others) that make it harder for those who are not born with the privileges that many of us take for granted. One of the things my students most enjoy is feeling like they are doing something “real” in the world by working with other people and understanding the fabric of our communities, as complex as that may be, with clearer eyes."

For her outreach work in the community through her service learning course, which she now offers twice per year, Elisabeth was awarded the VT College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Diversity Award in 2022. 

“Dr. Austin’s students have become a key component of the success of our program, and there’s no doubt the number of learners served by our organization and the number of positive outcomes achieved by our learners are the direct result of her work to

promote community volunteerism,” said Ginny Ayers, Literacy NRV director. “We

cannot thank her enough for connecting us with her students, who are an invaluable resource.”