CHECKING IN WITH AMERICORPS LEADER SHANADA HICKS

Our staff member Lacy Fiore checked in with AmeriCorps Leader Shanada Hicks to see how her service is going.  Shanada comes to Montana from Denver, CO and serves with Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming and Rocky Mountain College.  Keep reading to learn more about her service to Montana:
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Where are you serving and what does a typical day look like?
I am serving in Billings, MT. A typical day starts with preparing materials and lesson plans for our Girl Scout Troops. The best part is getting to engage the girls in these activates. I enjoy watching them learn and expand their horizons.  We are always preparing for upcoming events which takes a lot of organizing and preparation. I am always looking for ways to collaborate on projects with other Billings organizations.   

What are some focus areas of your service?
Working to incorporate college access activities into our Girl Scout lesson plans and activities with young girls. 

Inspiring the girls I work with to always feel empowered.

What inspires you to serve?
I am very passionate about teaching, and being a big role in the development and growing process of children. I believe that every child needs someone who wants to learn about them and push them to be all they can be despite any circumstances that they think may hinder the process of them being who they dream to be. I want to be that person. I grew up in a low income family and for a long time college wasn't something I was looking forward to doing, now I'm two years in and also serving for a national service branch. I never thought I'd be doing anything like this and I want to show other kids like me that truly anything is possible if you work at it. 

How are you incorporating your campus partner into your service?
I will be meeting with them when classes start back up for a possible collaboration on National Service Day!

What do you hope to gain from this experience?
I hope to gain a better sense of self and a better understanding of why I do what I do everyday and what purpose I serve.

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Thanks for checking in, Shanada and good luck with the rest of your service!

DISABILITIES ADVOCATE INSPIRED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE WITH MTCC AMERICORPS PROGRAM

Brittany Gwisdala, AmeriCorps Leader in Great Falls

Inspired to join AmeriCorps by a Peace Corps volunteer, Brittany Gwisdala is serving as an AmeriCorps Leader with the University of Great Falls and Girls Scouts of Montana & Wyoming in Great Falls, Montana. Brittany joined AmeriCorps to make a difference in education and believes that “Every Student, no matter their background, deserves a college education to not only benefit their own life, but to take the experiences they learn from college and give back to their communities. There is a difference between just being a student, and being a student who gets involved. Getting involved in the community is a great way to encourage others to do the same.”

A disabilities advocate, Brittany was no ordinary Ferris State (Michigan) college student. Accessing college through the Tuition Incentive Program and a financial aid package, she was involved with the Educational Counseling and Disability Services Office and became a panelist and presenter on Disability Awareness. 

Like many college students, Brittany changed her major several times before graduating with a Bachelor’s in History and a minor in French Language and Literature. During college she was frustrated, lost, confused at times, and felt like she had trouble fitting in. While struggling, Brittany put forth her best effort (even failing sometimes) and she was recognized as an Outstanding Graduate at her winter 2015 Commencement, and was later recognized as an Outstanding Senior Student, History B.A. this past spring. 

Welcome to service with Montana Campus Compact, Brittany!
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Submitted by Dannette Fadness, Montana Campus Compact

AMERICORPS VISTA CORAL THEDE CHECKS IN FROM GILLETTE, WY

I checked in with Coral Thede (pronounced TAY-DEE) to see how things are going down in Gillette, WY.  She is serving with the Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming.  Coral is finishing her service in January and we are excited to see what great things she will do next!  

Get To Know Your VISTA

Who: Coral (like the reef)

Where: Gillette, Wyoming

Age: 310 months

Originally From: Is this Heaven?    ..........No, it’s I O W A!

College: University of Northern Iowa Major: Communication Studies Minor: Spanish

Hobbies: Playing my guitar, bonfires, road trips, snail mail, blogging, Netflix.

Fun Fact(s): New Year’s Baby, natural ginger, once cut my hand ice skating (turns out I’m no Tara Lipinski)

Favorite Quote: “Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Why did you join AmeriCorps? A family friend suggested I look into it. I wanted to try something new and give back in some way, so becoming a VISTA seemed like a good idea. I think the empowerment of young women is especially important as well, so I was eager to serve alongside an organization like the Girl Scouts.

What has being an AmeriCorps VISTA taught you? My year of service came with a lot of ups and downs. It taught me to be more humble and grateful and gave me a better look into the modern day struggles everyday Americans are facing. It’s definitely been a year of growth and strength; including a lot of learning experiences. While this has probably been one of the toughest years for me, I can honestly say I’ve never given back more.

VISTA Service Accomplishments: With it being a huge rebuilding year, basically from the ground up for our Girl Scouts office, I focused mainly on service projects, revamping programs and creating partnerships.  Our main partnership is between the Boys and Girls Club and the local Gillette Community College. We had the Boys and Girls Club troop lined up and with my MTCC focus on College Positive Volunteers, I reached out to the college and luckily their Executive Student Senate decided to lead the troop. We had a very successful first semester and look forward to continuing this partnership!

In addition; we put on a camp that had been non-existent for two years and made it Reduce, Reuse, Recycle themed, received a grant for $2,000 from the Indian Education Committee to start a troop at the school on the reservation in Lame Deer, Montana, received another grant from the United Way for $5,000 for the girls at the Boys and Girls Club, participated in numerous community service projects including planting a garden in front of the Community Art Center and sending care packages to my Adopt-A-Soldier overseas, and had the most registered Girl Scouts in the whole state!

Post VISTA Life: After I complete my VISTA service, I fully plan on being rich and famous. Until then though, I will go back home to Iowa, find a full time job of sorts, pay off those student loans (eventually) and begin building my very own tiny house on wheels!

Contact:

Coral Thede

ALUM CHRISTINA DOCK TALKS ABOUT CAMPUS PARTNERSHIPS

Christina Dock: MTCC VISTA alum 

Christina Dock served from July 2014 to July 2015 in a partnership position between the the Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming and Rocky Mountain College in Billings, MT. Christina worked hard to build a strong, reciprocal campus-community partnerships and we asked if she could discuss what went into them, reflect on what she accomplished and share her successes and challenges.

Campus Partnerships

"At the Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming (GSMW) headquarters office, we tried to make connections and recruit students from every college in our region including Rocky Mountain College, Montana State University Billings, Montana State University, Little Big Horn College, Fort Peck Community College, Dawson Community College, etc.

Our main partner is Rocky Mountain College in Billings. Last year our partnership consisted of a meeting space on campus and hosting Rocky Work Study students. This past year our partnership with Rocky expanded to include hosting Work Study students; holding a Troop on campus; co-hosting events; and introducing girls to faculty, staff, and students. Rocky Mountain College troop 2435 met every other week and has the opportunity to meet with college professors, athletic teams, and/or staff members once a month. The members of the college came in, discussed what they do, how the girls can take steps to getting into college (in a way a 5 year old can understand), and did activities pertaining to their professions with the girls. That gave the girls an opportunity to see that they can attend college and be anything they want whether it is a chemist, an artist, and anything in between. We have also worked with RMC to create a higher education patch which the girls can earn at the end of the year. With all of our successes, we are planning for next year already!"

DCTA Project

Rocky Mountain College

"Many people think that Girls Scouting is about the "3 C’s" Camps, Crafts, and Cookies. This is not the case! GSMW’s main focuses for 2015 are Science Technology Engineering and Math (or "STEM"), financial literacy, and the outdoors. I encouraged my Rocky student volunteers to use STEM to create engaging lessons that get the girls pumped to learn. We hope that this will carry over into their school work and get the girls ready for higher education!

My project was called "Discover, Connect, Take Action (DCTA)," and we have recruited 575 girls to participate in our council-led troops just last year. These girls meet at one of our 13 partner troop locations including the YMCA, Friendship House of Christian Service, Discover Zone, CARE Academy, Rocky Mountain College, various middle schools in Billings, and many churches. The main goal of the DCTA project is to create a sustainable campus partnership that leads to a reliable stream of college student volunteers to lead these troops and encourage the girls to pursue higher education. I have successfully recruited and retained four long-term volunteers, so if you know of anyone in eastern and southern Montana who wants to volunteer, send them to GSMW, we have opportunities across the region!"