2008 Ageless Hero

Berenice Fenn
Age: 82

Love of Learning:
Pursues or shares knowledge gained through study or experience

Berenice Fenn's gift is her eagerness to better lives. What she really thrives on is teaching children. For the last seven years, Berenice has volunteered at the Walter Douglas Elementary School. She spends two days a week working with many first- and second-grade students — most of whom are Spanish-speaking. Her purpose at the school is to better these students' English.

Bernice is very familiar with this task. She lived in Cananea, Sonora, Mexico, for 32 years, raised her own five children, and taught English and Social Studies to Mexican students. There isn't much of the world Berenice has not seen during her 88 years. Every new place brought a new lesson and she finds a way to pass those lessons on to everyone she can.