Bipeds of Brookland: Karen Towers

Posted by Abbott Klar Real Estate on Friday, January 20th, 2017 at 6:47am

Bipeds of Brookland: Karen Towers

 Karen Towers

 

Karen Towers grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. “Any street I walked down, I had a relative on every block.”  After living at home through college, she decided she needed to move. “I wanted to go to the Peace Corps, and they sent me to Guatemala. I didn’t speak any Spanish. I had never been to Latin America before.” She taught 6th grade,Junior Achievement and business development in 3 schools in Patzun, a Kakchiquel Mayan speaking town. Because so few of the children were enrolling in high school, Karen and two fellow Peace Corps volunteers started a small NG, Amigos de Patzún, which seeks donations for scholarships to students to continue their education beyond primary school. “I have so much respect for teachers. The amount of planning and time it takes and the energy it takes.”  

 

Karen came to DC to study international development with a focus on education at Johns Hopkins, SAIS, and met her husband, an exchange student from Argentina. After graduating she began working at USAID. “I’m the Education Team leader for Latin America and Caribbean. We run programs mostly focused on reading or primary school, and do at risk youth programs and workforce development programs.” She is proud of the work of USAID with curriculum development and teacher training to improve the quality of education so children will learn basic skills before finishing primary school.

 

Karen looked at many houses before they bought in Brookland. “I couldn't be happier in this neighborhood honestly. It’s really community oriented. I feel like I’m in a small town here.  I like the green space, there’s parks and you have a yard. People are just very friendly here.” She is glad to find and attend events on the Brookland Kid’s listserv. “It’s super helpful.”  She is also impressed  with the number of schools which have come into the area and has enrolled her son at Latin American Montessori Bilingual PCS.

Bipeds of Brookland is a weekly series introducing the people who make Brookland their home, one step at a time.
Article and photo by Tom Sabella.

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