Volunteer Spotlight: Sarah Randag

Mentor Sarah Randag is in her third year at Cabrini Connections. She works with Ashaunti Roby, a 9th grader at Providence St. Mel School. Sarah heard about our program through a friend of hers, Wednesday night mentor Heather Coleman. Sarah volunteered for six years at Cabrini Green Tutoring Program while it was at the YMCA, but when they tore that building down and the program moved north, it no longer worked with her schedule. Cabrini Connections does, though, and we are glad to have her.

Sarah is teaming up with the owner of Cellar Rat Wine Shop to host a wine-tasting fundraiser at the shop's location on Sunday, November 22nd, from 5:30-7:30pm. We are happy to see a volunteer take the initiative to raise much-needed funds for our program. Tickets are $25 for wine and appetizers. Owner Dean Schlabowske is donating the wine and use of his space, so 100 percent of your admission fee will go to Cabrini Connections. Dean will choose six wines for guests to try and the theme is (just in time for Thanksgiving): wines that pair well with turkey.

Sarah is originally from Springfield, the capital of Illinois. She currently resides in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood of Chicago. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and now works as a web producer for American Bar Association (ABA) Journal. She primarily works as an editor on the magazine's web site. After college and before working for the ABA Journal, Sarah worked at three newspapers; two of them in Florida (Key West and Naples).

One of Sarah's favorite activities is swimming. She was on the swim team at Northwestern; she's in an adult recreation swim league; and she regularly participates in a 5k open water swim. She is also an avid runner; running in at least one half marathon a year. Maybe next year we can convince her to run a full one with Nicole :)

Last but not least, Sarah has some very simple tips for being a good mentor: pay attention, keep track, and follow up - very good advice from someone who's been doing this for almost 10 years. Thanks, Sarah!