Latest / WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio / Talk Line 08-06-2026: Ana Lara talks SVCC's Project VITAL

Transcript

Talk Line 08-06-2026: Ana Lara talks SVCC's Project VITAL · WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Good morning, Sock Valley, and welcome back to the Waking
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Crew here on FM ninety five one and AM fourteen
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  Speaker 1: sixty wi XN. It's eight fifteen on your Thursday morning,
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  Speaker 1: and you know what that means. It's time for talk
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  Speaker 1: line and I'm joined in the booth once again by
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  Speaker 1: our good friends from Salt Valley Community College for the
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  Speaker 1: first time at least for me since taking over at
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  Speaker 1: the legendary Steve Marco Studio and Alata Adult Literacy Coordinator
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  Speaker 1: for adult education over at Sock Valley Community Colleges here
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  Speaker 1: to talk to us today about Project vital Anna. How
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  Speaker 1: are you.
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  Speaker 2: I am doing so good. Thank you so much for
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  Speaker 2: having me here.
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  Speaker 1: It's an honor to have you here. I understand you
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  Speaker 1: were here when Steve was here.
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  Speaker 2: Hi Wes, Yes, last year.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's so cool. So you got to meet the
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  Speaker 1: legend himself.
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  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, he was so nice and so yeah. I
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  Speaker 2: feel so happy being with you.
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  Speaker 1: Well, thank you, thank you. I'm always happy to you know,
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  Speaker 1: anybody that's a friend of Sock Valley Community College as
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  Speaker 1: a friend of mine. The college is always doing great thing.
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  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, so I'm a graduated you know, they always
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  Speaker 1: help me out and so this is really cool because
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  Speaker 1: what I love telling folks is that you know, yes,
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  Speaker 1: SOCC Valley Community College is a college, but man, do
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  Speaker 1: they have so much when it comes to education. People
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  Speaker 1: really don't realize it. And so Project Vital I really
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  Speaker 1: think is one of those hidden gems. But you know
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  Speaker 1: better than me. Tell folks if they're not familiar. What
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  Speaker 1: is Project Vital?
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  Speaker 2: Okay, thank you, okay, Project Vital. We are a programed
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  Speaker 2: that it's adult teaching lateacy, adults for adults, adults teaching
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  Speaker 2: and other adults. Uh, this is a free tutoring program.
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  Speaker 2: It's one and one and it is really really the
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  Speaker 2: kind of programs that, like you said, probably people don't
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  Speaker 2: know that we have this kind of province in at Zog,
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  Speaker 2: but we do. Project Battle has been around since nineteen
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  Speaker 2: eighty five something like that, so it's been a while.
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  Speaker 2: And yes, we actually we have fifty tutors, volunteer students
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  Speaker 2: and giving you another beautiful time to Most of our
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  Speaker 2: students are people wanted to learn more English, how to
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  Speaker 2: speak English, how to communicate in English. And also we
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  Speaker 2: have ESL English as a second language students. And also
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  Speaker 2: we have what we call a b which adult basic education.
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  Speaker 2: So Project Battle it's open for everybody. The only we
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  Speaker 2: only ask in a commitment that stayed with us for
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  Speaker 2: at least nine months. And this has two goals. One
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  Speaker 2: is that one part of the process learning process is
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  Speaker 2: to get attached with your tutor or your teacher, so
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  Speaker 2: in that way you will learn better. So that's one
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  Speaker 2: of the one of the main goals that we have
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  Speaker 2: in Project Battle. But our im Project Battle also, like
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  Speaker 2: I said, the main main characters here are volunteers. So
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  Speaker 2: if you allow me to talk a little bit about
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  Speaker 2: our next training, okay, So we're gonna have a next
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  Speaker 2: training in October. It's gonna They're gonna be October nine, sixteen,
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  Speaker 2: and twenty the twenty third, from night to twelve in October.
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  Speaker 2: So the only thing that you have to do is
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  Speaker 2: give me a call, uh, and then we are going
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  Speaker 2: to will be welcoming you everybody, because yes, we always
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  Speaker 2: have a big alone waiting lists. Right now I have
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  Speaker 2: seventeen students waiting.
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  Speaker 1: For a tutor. Oh wow, yeah, okay, And so this
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  Speaker 1: training is if you want to be a want to
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  Speaker 1: become volunteer.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, yes, And if you want or not someone that
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  Speaker 2: wants to uh be part of our students. The only
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  Speaker 2: thing they have to do is come to our office.
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  Speaker 2: That's talk BALI h give me a call and then
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  Speaker 2: I will you know, we'll try. I will try as
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  Speaker 2: soon as I can to get to get them a tutor.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, that's wonderful. Well, there you go. You know,
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  Speaker 1: if you want to help give somebody the you know,
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  Speaker 1: the the gift of language, whether it's improving it or
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  Speaker 1: learning it for the first time to be able to
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  Speaker 1: better communicate, this is a great way to do that.
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  Speaker 1: So how does I'm curious, how does this work? If
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  Speaker 1: you know somebody you know, say I had wanted to
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  Speaker 1: sign up for classes?
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  Speaker 2: Right?
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  Speaker 1: Uh? It does it run for a certain amount of
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  Speaker 1: time or is it like continuing until they feel they've
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  Speaker 1: reached a certain level? How does that work?
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  Speaker 2: That is a wonderful question. Thank you so much. Okay, So,
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  Speaker 2: the like I think I mentioned before, we ask them,
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  Speaker 2: both tutors and students, like a commitment time at least
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  Speaker 2: nine months for the you know, the reasons that I've
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  Speaker 2: mentioned before. But if they feel because this is one
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  Speaker 2: of the things that believe me, I try to work
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  Speaker 2: a lot, is that they feel comfortable because if you like,
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  Speaker 2: if you having fun learning doesn't mean that you have
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  Speaker 2: to be born a boring thing, right. So that's one
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  Speaker 2: of the themes that always in my trainings because I'm
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  Speaker 2: the one that I you know that I do over
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  Speaker 2: the trainings. That's one of the themes that I is. Okay,
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  Speaker 2: I want you, both of you, tutors and students feel
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  Speaker 2: comfortable in that way when you reach the nine months,
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  Speaker 2: you want to give and go more and they stay,
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  Speaker 2: you know, and I always say, because they laugh and
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  Speaker 2: they say, you can go beyond and you know more,
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  Speaker 2: whatever you want the time that you want. I have
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  Speaker 2: tutors that has been around ten years.
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  Speaker 1: Wow.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, And you know the wonderful of this is that
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  Speaker 2: they're not with them, they're not with us in a
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  Speaker 2: program just learning English because this is one of the
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  Speaker 2: basic things. But they go more and beyond, like okay
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  Speaker 2: when they're ready. Because also in Adultly Location, which is
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  Speaker 2: our department at so Badly, we have GD classes prep
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  Speaker 2: so and also we have EL classes. So that means
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  Speaker 2: that we offer not just project Battle to learn English
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  Speaker 2: because projected is just one hour a week, so it's
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  Speaker 2: a very short, very short period time. So but we
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  Speaker 2: we reinforced that with our ESL classes. ESL classes, we
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  Speaker 2: have indictions and we have the starting we have right
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  Speaker 2: now just tas Sterling, but we have students from you know,
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  Speaker 2: all whatsappe area and GDY. When once they are prepared
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  Speaker 2: or ready to go, you know with the English, because
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  Speaker 2: our gd teachers say, don't speak Spanish or other languages,
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  Speaker 2: it's just English. So they had to be very fluent
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  Speaker 2: at least eighty percent in English. Uh. And so they
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  Speaker 2: are ready to start taking their classes GDY classes, and
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  Speaker 2: then we also we try to push them even more. Okay,
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  Speaker 2: you got your duty, You're ready to go, you know
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  Speaker 2: for some other courses or classes at SUCK. Yes, keep
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  Speaker 2: it going always. So this is like you said, Illo,
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  Speaker 2: what you said at the beginning is that, okay, everybody
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  Speaker 2: knows about a community college and it's wonderful. That's it's
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  Speaker 2: not just an institution where you can go and learn.
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  Speaker 2: But also we can offer this and you know, one
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  Speaker 2: thing that is really really I would say on our
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  Speaker 2: side is that this is free. Yeah. Not everybody not,
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  Speaker 2: I mean not, I mean, no one pay here. Everything
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  Speaker 2: is free because we work for the Grand stay Grand.
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  Speaker 1: So yeah, and and those wonderful volunteers. And again, if
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  Speaker 1: you're you're listening to this and you're thinking about it,
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  Speaker 1: contact the college looking into it. They you know, they'll
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  Speaker 1: help you out. They'll have you, you know, have a
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  Speaker 1: training and I mean that would be really cool. I
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  Speaker 1: mean being matched up one with one with somebody, getting
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  Speaker 1: to know them and then getting to see them.
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  Speaker 2: It is wonderful. Yeah you know, Brandon, right, yeah, you know, Brandon.
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  Speaker 2: That one of the things always when I try to
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  Speaker 2: recruit by matutors, because I will ask you, will you lie,
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  Speaker 2: would you like would you like to be one of
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  Speaker 2: my tutors? You're more than welcome. It's a win to
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  Speaker 2: a win win program because you win teaching, giving you know,
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  Speaker 2: to others the opportunity to learn English and getting bold
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  Speaker 2: into our workforce, which is really important because you know English.
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  Speaker 2: I mean a language is a barrier, O horrible barrier
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  Speaker 2: and sometimes you probably you want to you have the knowledge,
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  Speaker 2: but you don't know how to communicate, and they say, hey,
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  Speaker 2: I can do this, I can do the other thing.
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  Speaker 2: So that's why we are always say this is a
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  Speaker 2: win win program. You learn, because you know, most of
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  Speaker 2: my tutors do learn the language of their of their
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  Speaker 2: of their their students, and and also I would say
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  Speaker 2: that Project Battle it's it's a problem that we are
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  Speaker 2: changing for best or for better our communities, which is
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  Speaker 2: really true.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it absolutely is. I mean it's a fast, fabulous
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  Speaker 1: way to enrich somebody in a way that's going to
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  Speaker 1: be extremely useful. Oh yes, I mean in every in
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  Speaker 1: every facet of your life, you're going to need to communicate.
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  Speaker 1: So to be able to do this is a wonderful way.
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  Speaker 1: And then again, like you said, it's it's free, it's free. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: so there's really no I mean, there's no excuse not
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  Speaker 1: to be able to take advantage of this. We have
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  Speaker 1: public transportation in the area with Reagan Mass Transit District
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  Speaker 1: that runs to the college.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you really got no reason not to take advantage.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly exactly, so coming here, Brandon, and it gives me
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  Speaker 2: an opportunity to you know, more people know about this.
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  Speaker 2: You say that it's a high gym. Yeah yeah, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: So please come to us, Cole can I keep mind
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  Speaker 2: for a number absolutely? Okay, if you for some I
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  Speaker 2: mean you are interested in being a tutor, mlute tutor
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  Speaker 2: or one of our students, please call me. My number,
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  Speaker 2: it's A fifteen, A three, five six two for one
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  Speaker 2: and my name is Anna Ladra.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, what time do you go to bed so they
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  Speaker 1: know not to call? Oh okay, I'm just kidding.
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: Maybe night mag night listen you're ready station. First, of course,
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: I love this music.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, well, I thank you, and I thank you for
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  Speaker 1: coming on the show sharing all this information and all
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  Speaker 1: the work that you're doing helping people's lives literally enriching
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  Speaker 1: them one person at a time. That's really cool. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: if you want any more information on Project Vital or
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  Speaker 1: anything Sock Valley Community College offers, give Anna a call
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  Speaker 1: or SVCC dot edu exactly.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you.
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: The website and look up Project Vital of.
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  Speaker 2: Course, yes, and we're going in for you. Thank you.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks Anna,