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September 29, 2025, Adrian, Michigan – Members of the Adrian Rea Literacy Center – adult learners, volunteer tutors, and staff – gathered along with Adrian Dominican Sisters, Associates, and friends to honor a woman who made a difference in their lives. They waited in a long, informal reception line on a Sunday afternoon to thank Sister Carleen Maly, OP, upon her retirement from her position as director of the literacy center.

Founded in 2008, Adrian Rea Literacy Center was one of six literacy centers sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters and located in Adrian and Detroit, Michigan; Chicago; and West Palm Beach, Florida. The Adrian literacy center recently became independent of the Congregation.

Adrian Rea offers free, one-on-one training to adult learners, most of whom are learning English as a Second Language (ESL). The center also offers tutoring to adults whose first language is English. The focus is on listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills – in a welcoming, safe environment

Christine MacNaughton, Chair of the Board of the Adrian Rea Literacy Center, began a short program during the retirement celebration. She presented a plaque to Sister Carleen that read, “In grateful appreciation for dedicated service, Sister Carleen Maly, OP, the heart and soul of the Adrian Rea Literacy Center, 2008 to 2025.”

More personal messages were written on Sister Carleen’s next gift: a quilt made of squares on which Adrian Rea adult learners, volunteer tutors, staff, and board members had written of their appreciation for Sister Carleen.

For her part, Sister Carleen expressed gratitude to the people gathered and gave a heart-felt plea for more people to volunteer as tutors. “We’ve got to help people, especially now that they don’t even know what’s coming,” she said.

She was moved by the people who came to the celebration and by the work that went into preparing it. “The key moments were the beautiful way that my colleagues transformed what was our workspace and our teaching and tutoring space into a royal room – a regal room, because it was lined up with places where people could sit and get to know each other,” she said.

An educator for much of her life as an Adrian Dominican Sister, Sister Carleen also engaged in parish ministry and in 1994 was elected Chapter Prioress (Superior) of the Congregation’s Florida Chapter. In 2000, at the conclusion of her term, she moved to Detroit to be closer to her mother after the death of her father. 

She was invited to live at the convent of Dominican High School and work with Sisters Marie Damian Schoenlein, OP, and Sarah Cavanaugh, OP, at the Dominican Literacy Center. “It was my first taste of adult literacy,” Sister Carleen said. She worked there for three years until the Congregation asked her to serve as Director of Vocation Outreach.

When Sisters Marie Damian and Sarah opened Adrian Rea Literacy Center in Adrian, they asked Sister Carleen to join them. Sister Carleen succeeded Sister Marie Damian as director.

“My biggest challenge was training and keeping tutors,” Sister Carleen said. “We had no trouble finding people who wanted to be tutored.” But, she added, much of the literacy work in the Adrian area was focused on teenagers. “To offer a program of literacy for adult learning was new to a lot of people in this area.” 

Sister Carleen emphasized that the people who are tutored are referred to as adult learners – not as students. “Their children are students.” Being called learners “elevates the adults. Some of them already have a first language of their own. They’re coming here to learn another language,” English, she said.

Sister Carleen expressed admiration for the adult learners – for the hard work they do in their jobs and their determination to learn English. “A lot of the work they do is hard,” she said. “There have been summers here that have been brutal. They’ve been outside eight hours a day … in manual, back-breaking labor.” Yet, she added, they are willing to put in the extra time and effort to come to the literacy center to develop their skills in English.

“The joys are knowing that we are able to change people’s lives because we are able to give them the gift of being able to read, write, and speak in English,” Sister Carleen said. She also finds joy in “giving them the ability to achieve their goals: to help their children [with their homework], to be able to know what the doctor is saying, and to get a better job.” Their commitment to learning also serves as a good example to their children – and a bridge between parents and children who are also learning. “They don’t hesitate to say, ‘My children are teaching me,’” she said. 

Many adult learners also ask for help to prepare for the U.S. citizenship test. “We ask the tutors to help their learners study the 100 questions involved in the citizenship test,” Sister Carleen said, and many have become U.S. citizens.

Sister Carleen is pleased with the dedication of the volunteer tutors, who themselves experience joy as they help the adult learners to improve their English skills. But, she added, Adrian Rea is always in need of more tutors. One-on-one, individualized tutoring “is the best way and the most tried and true way for most adults to learn,” she explained.

Now that she is retired, Sister Carleen said she hopes to continue volunteering in places where there’s a need to help adults, perhaps helping to bring in more tutors. “I believe in our program,” she said. “I’d like to introduce people to our literacy center, that we have a good place for people to come and learn to speak English. This is one of the few literacy centers in this area. It opens new horizons.”  

For more information on how to become a tutor or a learner, contact Adrian Rea Literacy Center at 517-264-7320 in English or 517-264-7327 en Español, or email [email protected]. The Center’s hours are 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, and 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Wednesdays.
 

Caption for above feature photo: Sister Carleen Maly, OP, left, and Christine MacNaughton, Chair of the Board of Adrian Rea Literacy Center, display a quilt of squares containing messages from tutors, adult learners, and staff of the literacy center to Sister Carleen.

March 18, 2022, Grosse Pointe, Michigan – Kimberly Williams, Director of the Dominican Literacy Center, and Sister Janice Brown, OP, Director of the Siena Literacy Center, were recognized by Soroptimist International of Grosse Pointe on the evening of March 9, 2022, with the Ruby Award. Both literacy centers are located in Detroit and are sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters.

Soroptimist International of Grosse Pointe is a dynamic group of women who care about making the world a better place for women and girls. The group raises funds throughout the year to support women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment. 

Kimberly Williams, left, and Sister Janice Brown, OP, Ruby Award recipients, enjoy time together during the awards dinner.

Kimberly and Sister Janice received the Ruby Award in recognition of their outstanding work and dedication to women's education and growth. With the award, both literacy centers received donations to help continue their excellent work.    

Sister Janice has been involved in adult education since 2005. She was Director of the Dominican Literacy Center until 2017, when she began her work on a Doctorate in Ministry at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

“It was an honor to be highlighted as a leader in our community for women’s education,” Sister Janice said. “I was thrilled to … be with people who are passionate about it.” She praised the women of Soroptimist of Grosse Pointe for their dedication to providing a second chance to women who strive to overcome adversity and make a difference in the world.

Sister Janice said the work of literacy centers is to provide that second chance for people who are struggling with literacy issues – either native English speakers who didn’t gain sufficient skills in school or adult learners studying English as a Second Language (ESL). Offering a second chance at life “is part of cultivating that individual to be who God meant them to be,” she said. “We walk with [our adult learners]. We provide the education and support they need for the foundational level.” 

Adult learners tend to have “a lot on their plates, raising a family and putting food on the table,” Sister Janice said. “You’ve got to have a time in your life when you can put education in top priority.”

She spoke of some of Siena Literacy Center’s many success stories. One adult learner, an ESL student, earned her GED and is now taking classes to earn her two-year nursing degree. “That’ll be a better paying position, as well as filling a great need we have in society” for healthcare professionals, Sister Janice said. 

Kimberly was “happy and excited and honored” to receive the Ruby Award and, during the award evening, appreciated hearing the stories of the scholarship recipients, women who faced obstacles and moved forward in their lives. “It was very powerful to me to hear what people have gone through and how they’re pushing through,” she said. “It was very inspirational.”

She is also inspired by the adult learners at the Dominican Literacy Center. “My highlights are when I see people achieving their goals,” whether to earn a GED, read the Bible more effectively, or help their children, Kimberly said. She pointed to one student who spent years improving his reading and math skills so he can now work to earn his GED. Two staff members were originally adult learners at Dominican Literacy Center and are now able to give back, she added.

A native of Detroit, Kimberly graduated from college and moved to the East Coast, where she “worked for corporate America for a long time.” When she was laid off, she realized that her volunteer work had been more rewarding. After working for a high school, pairing tutors and students, she moved back to Detroit and was hired as program coordinator at Dominican Literacy Center. She earned a Master of Education degree in Reading from Marygrove College in Detroit. When Sister Janice left to work on her doctorate, Kimberly was hired as Director.

“This is my dream job,” Kimberly said. Still, she added, she has been challenged by the pandemic, which forced the Center to close at times and which brought on the need for Zoom for tutoring sessions and meetings. “Right now, we’re open and offer online and in-person instruction,” she said. “We’re working towards full capacity.”

The evening also honored women who courageously broke chains of oppression. Some struggled to get out of abusive relationships to make a better life for themselves and their families. Others had dreams to learn the skills that they would need to help others significantly. All received scholarships to continue their education and are doing the work needed to create a new trajectory of their lives. 

Lavina Hutchinson received the Virginia Wagner Award for women enrolled in a university degree program who work hard academically and either volunteer in the community or face financial challenges.
 
Nealmetria Loper, Delia Mustin, Denise Sargent, and Danyelle Easly received the Live Your Dream Award for women who are working toward a university degree and are the primary financial supports for their families.

Tonesia Nesbitt received the Continuing Education Award, which is given to Living Your Dream recipients working towards completing their university degrees.
 
Sister Janice Brown, OP, contributed to this article.

Feature photo (top): Celebrating with Sister Janice Brown, OP – Ruby Award recipient – are, back row, from left, Associates Geri Pleva, Carol Hofer, and Toni Adams and Sister Janet Stankowski, OP, and front row, from left, Sisters Nancyann Turner, OP, and Janice Brown, OP, Associate Mary Margaret Bommarito, and Dominican Volunteer Erinn Toth.