Beth Fowler

What is the best strategy for surviving the robot apocalypse?
Revolutionary fervour 

Please describe your ideal pizza.
Thin crust (Chicagoans don't know what they're talking about), cheese that you can actually bite into, tomato sauce with a sweetness to it, red pepper flakes, and a good gob of hot sauce.

Favorite spice?
Cardamom

What are you superstitious about?
Frequent bouts of deja vu

Best Halloween costume?
A present--basically a wrapped cardboard box and a ribbon on my head, but it was very cute. Difficult to sit down in class, though.

Hidden talents?
Predicting Oscar winners

Favorite book?
Nine Stories, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, A Clockwork Orange

Tell the world a little bit about your 826 volunteering so far.
My favourite programs are the Friday morning roadshows. The students are always so welcoming, and excited to see 826 volunteers walk in. Even the shy students seem to come out of their shells and really use their imaginations when writing Choose Your Own Adventure or How to Survive Anything stories. The ideas they come up with are frequently both hilarious and profound. Even if I am exhausted when I walk in, I always leave feeling cheerful and exhilarated! ​

Favorite 826 memory?
It was really great seeing how excited Golightly Institute students were to have 826 volunteers in the audience at their school play. I also loved one student writing about how meeting Rick Ross can help you become a millionaire, and another, when asked which food he would be, responding, "Poison, because then no one would eat me!"

Words of wisdom to fellow and future volunteers?
Patience is truly a virtue, but so is a sense of goofiness--kids can tell when you are faking that last one! I am used to working with older students, so I have had to learn to let go a bit, and remember that silliness can be a way of connecting with kids as well!

Check out Beth's Volunteer of the Month Write-up Here!