Welcome to United Way of East Central Iowa, Claudette!Last month, Claudette Breaux joined our staff as a Reading into Success AmeriCorps VISTA. Get to know a little about Claudette by reading her responses below.

Tell us about where you are from, where you grew up, etc.

I’m from Luling, Louisiana, which is a small town south of New Orleans, but I’ve spent the last four years at Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin.

What are your hobbies? What do you do for fun?

I spend a lot of my time listening to podcasts and knitting (or crocheting), but I always have fun reading a good book.

Why did you want to work for United Way?

Reading has always been an important part of my life, and I want to encourage young people the way that people in my life encouraged me when I was younger. United Way is one way I can sustainably help people.

What is your favorite way to give back to your community?

I like working with kids and food. I volunteered at an elementary school in Beloit mentoring and reading with students, and I’ve helped out at a food pantry, both of which I really enjoyed.

If you were a crayon, what color would you be and why?

Probably a light blue or mint! Definitely a pastel color of some sort. Almost everything I owned at one point was light blue, and I still love soft pops of color.

What are you currently watching on Netflix?

I’m binge watching New Girl and Queer Eye again for roughly the hundredth time each.

Where is your favorite place in the world?

It is a tie between my bed in the winter (where I’m underneath at least five blankets and wearing thick socks), or at a park in the summer (preferably sprawled out on a blanket next to a river). Either place, I’d have a good book with me!