Goodbye to Two-Term MTCC VISTA - Kate Johnson

Last month, we said goodbye to a great VISTA and wonderful colleague in Kate Johnson. Kate served as a VISTA with Bitterroot College UM in Hamilton for 2 full years, helping build capacity for the college’s marketing and outreach to the low-income and first generation college Bitterrooters. Kate’s dedication to college access and passion for community education will continue to benefit her immediate community as she transitions into a new student outreach role at The University of Montana. Below she reflects on her 2 years of service.

What aspect of serving with Bitterroot College will you remember most?

Seeing how hard some of the people involved with Bitterroot College work in order to keep that college going. The College is relatively new in the community, and is always overcoming an obstacle. It keeps going on because so many staff, faculty, and community members are determined to provide access to education to people in the Bitterroot Valley. Pro tip: Support your local educational institution(s) through educating yourself on higher education systems, by taking classes, by getting to know the people who dedicate themselves to making education available, affordable, and relevant to their neighbors.

Through your experience, in what ways did you expand the capacity of Bitterroot College outreach?

In my first term of service I expanded the college's outreach capacity by building tools and systems for our marketing, doing outreach presentations for community organizations, tabling at the Hamilton Farmers Market (always getting a bagel breakfast sandwich from Bitterroot Bagels and More or a burrito from Maria's Burritos or both), and creating marketing procedures and strategies for the college to use in the 1-3 year span. 

In my second term of service I did more tabling (and ate many more bagel breakfast sandwiches and burritos), more outreach presentations, and helped develop a strategic outreach plan with a team of Bitterroot College staff and AmeriCorps members. I also wrote grants for the college to expand its academic offerings to the community. 

How has two years of service in VISTA changed you as a person?

For the past two years I've done my service on a largely self-directed basis with the expectation of still working within a team, so I've learned a lot about how I operate as a person, teammate, and office pal and have made some adjustments to my office personality. On the whole, I hope I've started to balance candor with capability. 

What can we expect from Future Kate?

I just started a job at UM's Global Engagement Office and am grant writing on the side for a couple nonprofit organizations in the Bitterroot Valley. So expect to see me drinking lots of coffee on campus, loping through Missoula on some good runs (ultimate short term goal is to run all of the switchbacks of the "M" without going into cardiac arrest), moseying through the Missoula Farmers Market, and volunteering.

Any words of wisdom for potential first year VISTAs?

Take ownership of your service. You're allowed - and supposed to - speak up for yourself at your service site. You're expected to get things done for your community, so make sure that you have what you need in order to do that successfully. And you're obligated to stand up for what is fair for yourself, the people you serve, and the people whose voices need to be heard. 

LIFE AFTER VISTA: DOING WHAT YOU LOVE

Sara Feilzer is an MTCC VISTA Alum currently working for Exploration Works in Helena, MT. Her passion for teaching science to young Montanans has been an inspiration to everyone she works with. We would like to highlight her past and current accomplishments and thank her for her service to Montana communities.

When and where did you serve your term as a Compact AmeriCorps VISTA?

I served from July 2015 to July 2016 in Missoula with spectrUM Discovery Area, a hands-on science center focused on encouraging the next generation of Montanans to pursue higher education and hopefully a career in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math).

What are some highlights from your year of service?

One of the highlights of my year of service was helping to plan a massive gala fundraiser for my organization which brought in over $50,000. It was incredible to see all of the people in the community that came together to support spectrUM and allow us to continue to serve Montana and its families. I also helped build infrastructure for a summer camp program and was able to see firsthand the impact that my service had on students of all social and economic backgrounds.

How did your service impact your life?

My year of service was an eye-opening experience for me personally and professionally. I had a great deal of hardship during my time with spectrUM and MTCC, but because of those experiences, I was able to learn so much more about myself and how I handle successes, setbacks and failures. It also was such an incredible experience to be serving with other service-minded individuals and watching their passions for civic engagement grow and change throughout our term of service. I met some amazing people doing incredible work through MTCC, and I am extremely proud to call them friends. I was lucky enough to serve in the community that I grew up in, with the organization that I fell in love with in high school. Through my term of service though, I was exposed to so much more, and the opportunity to do so much more to engage and give back to my community.

Where are you now and in what way are you still involved with civic engagement?

Currently I am the Community Education and Outreach Director for ExplorationWorks, a hands-on science center in Helena, Montana. My focus is on engaging the public in informal STEM education and hopefully sparking a lifelong passion for science. I lead programming geared for kids as young as 2, all the way to adults, hopefully encouraging them to look at their world a little differently. I am also going to start volunteering with the wildlife education center at Montana WILD in January, which I am super excited about,  and I also serve on the Board of Directors for Animal Wonders, an organization that takes in displaced exotic animals, gives them a forever home, and turns them into ambassadors for their species.

Any additional thoughts on your current passions for community service?

I think that civic engagement is one of the most important things we can do for our community. When we serve our neighbors, friends, family, we create a safer and more welcoming place for all. I would love to see every person engaged in their community and helping to pass on their passion and knowledge to the next generation.