Tom Almer is a 2026 recipient of the Homer Higbee International Education Award, which is presented to MSU students and volunteers who have made significant contributions to support global learning and intercultural awareness.
Almer has been a volunteer with the Volunteer English Tutoring Program, commonly known as VETP, for more than 22 years. The impact he’s had and continues to have supporting students is immeasurable.
“In 2004, I was frustrated by the war in Iraq and was looking for a way to do something positive. Teaching these classes has been such a rewarding experience for me, especially when I would receive positive feedback,” Almer said.
“Being told more than once that this class was their best class at MSU — not that I was competing with other classes, but that meant I was doing okay.”
Almer’s approach to tutoring was centered on establishing a community through inclusion and reflection. Through his unique way of taking attendance with an oval seating chart that identified each individual’s name and home country, and his thoughtfully planned lessons that included class readings, field trips to various Michigan locations, and practical information such as idioms and slang, Almer helped his students become more confident English communicators and connected to their new community.
“Tom was engaging, kind and always ready to answer any questions that students had,” said former VETP Director Mary Hennessy. “He welcomed anyone on a drop-in basis and often had the largest classes in our program.”
One former student recalled how Tom incorporated current events into his lessons by creating sentences that included idioms they were learning to help students understand the news and language simultaneously.
From his dedication to teaching and working one-on-one to help students with academic papers to the online community he created through Facebook the last 13 years, Almer has proven time and again that a volunteer English tutoring program can be transformative for international students, scholars and their families.
“He intentionally built in peer-to-peer conversation and interactive activities that help participants connect with one another. As a result, many students have formed lifelong friendships, supporting each other both inside and outside the classroom,” said another former student.
“Even during the busiest weeks of graduate school, I made sure to attend because [his class] felt therapeutic and helped me de-stress and recharge. I wish every international scholar, student and family arriving in the U.S. could have a Tom in their life.”