Students connect through cancer foundation's tutoring program

laura emerson/viewAdvanced Technologies Academy student Carmen Puentes, left, tutors 9-year-old Rachel Hague in a classroom at the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation, 6070 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 200, Dec. 2. Fellow A-Tech volunteer Skylar Dunn, right, looks on. Advertisement

Skylar Dunn and Carmen Puentes, both seniors at the Advanced Technologies Academy, sit inside the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation, where painted walls dominate the landscape. Floor-to-ceiling murals of mountainside docks, surfboards perched on a pier and a garden scene lend color and a cheery disposition to the office space at 6070 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 200.

The teenagers sit in front of white Apple computers, completing college applications. The high-schoolers are waiting for more students to arrive, children who have taught them a thing or two about life.

As members of the ambassadors club at A-Tech, 2501 Vegas Drive, Dunn and Puentes participate in community service and help recruit students for the magnet school's programs. Both volunteer as tutors for the foundation's Educational Services program.

Today, the two are waiting for Rachel and Danielle Hague to come in for their tutoring visit. The sisters, who attend May Elementary School, 6350 W. Washburn Road, are ages 9 and 6, respectively.

When Rachel and Danielle walk in, the room lights up. The high school kids are excited to see the sisters, and the girls are equally excited to be there.

Rachel and Danielle's mom, Tina Hague, said the tutoring has helped her daughters raise their grades after they'd fallen due to changes in the girls' home lives. She also said that Lenny Ware, director of education services for the foundation, helps her communicate her children's needs to the Clark County School District.

Danielle hasn't been diagnosed with a specific illness, but has a number of medical complications that impact her education and time spent in a traditional classroom.

"I think it's helped me a lot," Rachel said of the tutoring. "I get my homework done a lot faster."

Rachel said her younger sister didn't like doing her homework before, but now she enjoys completing her assignments.

"They're really helpful in all situations," Rachel said.

Berta Hopkins, a science teacher at O'Callaghan Middle School, 1450 Radwick Drive, also volunteers and said, as a teacher, her experience has been interesting watching how the students motivate each other. Not only do the students from A-Tech motivate the younger children, but the younger children inspire the high school kids.

"Helping is wonderful," Dunn said. "It's nice to give back."

Dunn said the experience has taught him to appreciate what he has in terms of his health. Before volunteering, Dunn complained that he was sore from basketball practice or that he had too much homework to complete.

"They go through so much more," Dunn said. "When you think you have it bad, someone else always has it worse."

Puentes agreed that volunteering with the foundation has been eye-opening.

"It has been a wonderful experience to connect with other people," Puentes said. "It makes you re-prioritize your whole life."

Tina Hague said that working with Ware has changed Danielle's entire focus when it comes to school.

"I don't know where I would have been without him," she said. "(The foundation) does so many good things for the kids."

The Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation Educational Services program enables students diagnosed with a critical illness to continue to participate in the educational process and consists of a classroom at Sunrise Children's Hospital, a full-time teacher who teaches at the classroom and bedside, and curriculum provided by the Clark County School District.

For more information, call 735-8434.

Contact View education reporter Laura Emerson at lemerson@viewnews.com or 380-4588.