Select ELL students at Andrew Wilson Charter School had a special surprise today when actress Karrie Martin stopped by to read a book to them.
Martin, who plays Ana Morales on the Netflix series Gentefied, is a New Orleans native who was home for a visit and stopped by Wilson to spend some time with students.
Martin was greeted by the children in the library with third-grader Emily introducing her to her peers.
“It is an honor to have you here today to read aloud,” she said. “Muchas gracias, Ms. Martin.”
Martin told the children it was good to be back home.
“Thank you so much for having me. It’s so nice to meet you all,” she said. “Today your teacher asked me to read this wonderful book Just a Minute. It’s my first time reading this book so I am going to be learning it with you.”
After she finished with the book, she spent a few minutes talking to the children about her show and her family’s country, Honduras.
“It’s so beautiful,” she told them, as one student said her family was planning a trip there.
Before leaving, the students presented Martin with a bouquet of roses and a card they had made.
“Truly, this means a lot,” said ELL Teacher Eduardo Gonzalez, who arranged the event, which happened as a result of a conversation he had with fellow teacher Yecenia Lopez.
“I was talking to Ms. Lopez about a new show I was watching and she mentioned that the mother of one of the actresses was her best friend,” Gonzalez said, adding that “a lightbulb went off” and he began corresponding with Martin’s agent to see if she could visit the children the next time she was in town. “And it thankfully worked out.”
After posing for a photo, the students waved goodbye to Ms. Martin, thanking her for her time before heading back to class.