Staff Spotlight: Arielle Paist

February 3, 2017

Arielle, a Charlotte native, graduated from UNC-Greensboro with a B.A. in Business Administration where she completed over 2,000 hours of service for a variety of non-profit organizations.  Serving the community ignited her interest and charged her with mending the array of social indifferences.  After graduation, she embarked on a Tutor Corp fellowship in Newark, New Jersey at Great Oaks Charter School.  This fellowship strengthened her dedication to advocating for all students. Arielle believes widening opportunities and closing the educational gap is critical.

Arielle is currently the Program Coordinator at Nathaniel Alexander, a school she attended as an elementary student. She loves being a part of this school community once again and is committed to ensuring her students make strong academic progress.

Here are Arielle’s answers to our Spotlight questions:

Who was your best teacher and why? 

My favorite teacher, who taught me in fifth grade at Nathaniel Alexander, was Ms. Cook! As with our Heart volunteers, she not only supported me academically but was a motivating mentor as well.  I was new to CMS curriculum, as I had recently relocated from California.  With her assistance I not only began to see how my hard work and effort could positively affect my grades, but also what higher horizons I could reach for.  She was a true believer in pushing you to your limits, in order to surpass them.  I am thankful, as it groomed me into the college graduate and woman I am today!

What is your favorite book? 

I love cracking open a book and reading in silence; it brings me so much peace!  Although I enjoy many different genres, recently my favorites are ones written by Nicholas Sparks.  I live for romantic novels with an action twist!

What is your favorite quote?

“Beauty is as beauty does.  We’re remembered not by what we looked like, but how we behaved and changed the lives of others.”

What’s an interesting fact about yourself?

I was named after the little mermaid, Ariel.  My grandma had long red hair, so seeing that the character was always a favorite of my mother’s she thought it was very fitting.