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St. Ambrose pen pals connect with Davenport kids

“Hi again,” read Anjelikah Zapata, 11.  “I got your letter.” Words almost jump off the page for the Davenport fifth grader. “I can...

"Hi again," read Anjelikah Zapata, 11.  "I got your letter."

Words almost jump off the page for the Davenport fifth grader.

"I can't wait to spend the day with you," she continued.  "You sound very nice, and I hope you are."

The Buchanan School student is pen pals with Katelyn McDonald, a St. Ambrose University senior and future teacher in Ottawa, Illinois.

"I think she's grown as a writer," Katelyn said.

They're seeing each other for the first time on Friday.

"Her first letter was (short)," Katelyn continued.  "This was a full page."

After corresponding during the past few months, Katelyn is helping Anjelikah to discover a passion for prose.

"She knew what she wanted to write," Katelyn said.  "Her actual penmanship got better as well."

This first-time,  creative partnership pairs Education students at St. Ambrose with 55 Buchanan fifth graders.

Kids are getting a taste of college life on Friday.  They're chowing down on dining hall food and touring the campus.

While the project is inspiring students like Anjelikah to write, it's also motivating her to go to college.

"It makes me want to do more things, learn more and go a long way in school," she said.

It's like a field trip into the future. Youngsters are discovering a love of learning from their college pen pals.

"Hopefully this sparks their interest, so they do want to go to college," Katelyn said.

Now that's real word power.

 

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