Marjan Nezafati

Dr. Marjan Nezafati was nominated by Dr. Kourosh Hassani,  ESL Teacher Leader from the Bilingual Multicultural Education Department. "Dr. Nezafati has been a very gracious volunteer to support refugee students in their transition to Milwaukee Public Schools. In Spring of 2022, the district prepared themselves to support  families coming from Afghanistan to Milwaukee. Just like any new student, coming to a new school, making new friends and getting acclimated to the school culture can be very scary. But it is definitely a diificult experience for a student coming from a new country as they have to learn a different culture, language and content. For MPS student Maryam,  this new journey was not done alone as Dr. Nezafati was right by her side. With familiarity of both the U.S. and Afghan culture, Dr. Nezafati used various strategies to assist Maryam in comprehending topics and concepts taught in class. Maryam was very nervous at the start, but always looked forward to working with Dr. Nezafati as she helped to make the new environment more comfortable. 

Dr. Nezafati has been instrumental in encourgaing her friends and colleagues to volunteer as well. She is a very good role model and has gone out of her way to make sure our newly arrived families are supported 100%. Thank you Dr. Nezafati for being our Most Valuable Volunteer."