During the past three years, I have been privileged to be a part of this movement and this organization.
I have been honored to be your colleague and to work with you in service of the sum of all knowledge.
The Wikipedia Education Program [1] is especially near and dear to my heart. It is a means of educating readers, recruiting contributors, and creating quality content. Since 2014, the number of education initiatives around the world has increased by 36%. [2] [3] And 25% of all education programs now are in one of the regions that I directly supported. [4] I am so proud of what they have accomplished. And I am enthusiastic about what great things they have yet to achieve.
I want to thank and compliment my current manager, Floor Koudijs. She is a competent, considerate, conscientious leader, and her diplomacy skills are unsurpassed. I am confident that the education team and the education program will continue to excel under her leadership. They are in the best hands.
I want to thank my teammates, past and present, from whom I have learned so much: Floor Koudijs. Tighe Flanagan, Samir Elsharbaty, Kacie Harold, Rodney Dunican, Sage Ross, Jami Mathewson, and LiAnna Davis.
I want to thank the Wikipedia Education Collaborative [5] for sharing their experience and expertise with the greater global education community. I may ask to mentor me when I pilot a Wikipedia assignment in my own classroom!
And I want to thank the education program leaders, past and present, with whom I had the privilege of working closely, especially those whom I had the privilege of visiting. To be able to support their great work was an honor and a lot of fun.
Wikipedia is a miracle, a monument to altruism. It is vital to the internet ecosystem, and it is vital to the education system. I hope that more young people especially will find their way to it and help out. And when they do, I hope that they are met with wise mentorship from veteran community members, just as I was.
I intend to remain a Wikipedian even after I am no longer a WMF staff member. And, with that promise, I’ll see you on the wikis. [6]
Anna Koval, M.Ed.