Almuni Spotlight: Katie Koga

Katie served as a Campus Compact AmeriCorps Team Leader at The University of Montana from 2010-2011. Reflecting on the service year, Katie said "This experience helped shape my view of public service and what it looks like for different individuals. Following my time with Campus Corps, I transitioned to working for a social justice organization, addressing issues of prejudice, oppression, and discrimination. As I'm transitioning to a career in healthcare, my service experience continues to strengthen my commitment to work that serves and benefits the public while engaging me as a community member."

Katie is a current student at the University of Montana, in the pre-nursing program. Thanks for your service, Katie!

 

REMEMBERING GEORGE: HABITS OF THE HEART WITH JOHN ALLEN

George Dennison, (originally printed in the Spring 2010 Montanan)

In January, we lost a dedicated, visionary leader when George Dennison passed away. Since then, we've put the call out to friends and colleagues of George to send us pieces about working with him and what it meant. This piece comes from John Allen, who worked as Montana state director for the Corporation for National and Community Service office. John's retired now, but he served on the Governor's Commission on Community Service with George. John helped establish MTCC's VISTA program and wrote this piece on the occasion of George's retirement. It ran originally in the Spring 2010 issue of the Montanan, UM's alumni magazine.
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"I know President Dennison as a builder who has made Montana a better place. One can easily see all the growth at UM—the new stadium, the powerhouse football team, increased student enrollment, the rise of the University’s academic reputation, and other milestones. From my personal experience and knowledge, Dennison’s legacy also is about building foundations that we can build on to create more and better volunteer programs, a more civically engaged population, and, consequently, a stronger democracy.

During my thirty-five years working in community service, civic engagement, and volunteerism, and ten years as the Montana director for the Corporation for National and Community Service (known as the domestic Peace Corps), I worked with Dennison to encourage civic engagement and volunteerism. He is a builder—a visionary with a can-do attitude. I can’t count the number of times in meetings where he would say, “Let’s get it done.” He is able to connect seemingly unrelated issues while fostering relationships between far afield entities, like college volunteers working with senior volunteers to collect for food banks or young volunteers teaching senior volunteers about computers. Dennison realizes a successful democracy depends on an educated and civically engaged population. 

John Allen

Often he would lead dialogues among leaders in community service about the importance of volunteerism. Building civic engagement to him was not only an academic interest; it was about something bigger and getting it done. Dennison provided the vision and leadership at the University, in Montana, and nationally to increase civic engagement. He served on the national Campus Compact board and was instrumental in building, in Montana, one of the most successful branches in the nation. Campus Compact promotes civic engagement at the university level. Year after year, UM ranks among the top universities nationally for civically engaged students, outranking many prestigious schools. For fifteen years Dennison was the chair, visionary, and leaderof the Montana Commission on Community Service, which promoted civic engagement. With his leadership, the commission developed and implemented more programs and created an environment that encouraged collaborations not often seen in larger states. Civic engagement experts considered the Montana Campus Compact and Montana Commission on Community Service as models for the nation, a direct result of Dennison’s longtime commitment and leadership. He gave tireless effort and always made himself available." 

John Allen

REMEMBERING GEORGE DENNISON

George Dennison, 1935-2017. Photo by Erik-Stenbakken

Earlier this month we lost George Dennison to non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Known to many of us a "President Dennison" or later, just "George" after enough years and when it didn’t feel strange or disrespectful. It’s hard to overstate the forward-thinking, future shaping work that George committed himself to. On a daily basis working for Campus Compact and with higher ed. in Montana I still feel the impact of his belief in service, civic engagement and higher education’s role in supporting American democracy, and global citizenship. The list of Dennison’s accomplishments while administering the University of Montana is too long to mention here, so I’ll focus instead on his role with Montana Campus Compact, and a few parts of his service legacy.

George, along with his colleagues from seven other Montana higher education institutions, founded Montana Campus Compact in 1993. They believed that higher education has an important role to play to shape our nation's, state's and community leaders, and that by actively engaging with community, higher education offered students opportunities to apply their learning, learn valuable skills, and address real challenges. He offered office space on the campus at UM to our fledgling Compact, and we’ve been here hosted and supported by UM for the past 20+ years. I’ve worked for Campus Compact since 2000, and I remember my first impressions of President Dennison when I started this work. He was an imposing figure, he said what was on his mind, commanded the respect of others and worked incredibly hard to position the University of Montana and Campus Compact as leaders in civic engagement work. He’s one of the few people I can think of whose presence I associate with the word gravitas. When he talked, you listened. On the other hand, it was clear he loved what he did, and he had a great smile and sense of humor.

My first job with Campus Compact was as a VISTA leader, and I served with the AmeriCorps Member Advisory Council that year. We sent our members to the Montana Commission on Community Service which George chaired, to observe the meeting and report on AmeriCorps members and VISTAs collaborative work. I remember George ran a very efficient meeting and adhered closely to Robert’s Rules.  The Commission had awarded AmeriCorps funding for about seven years at that point, and were working to branch into additional lines of business that advanced their mission. I remember that the idea of creating a service scholarship for incoming college freshmen had been percolating with the Commission for a time. George believed that Montana needed greater infrastructure for service, and volunteered to call the (then) Student Assistance Foundation, and bring a proposal to his colleagues with Campus Compact, and see what could happen.  Soon thereafter, the Youth Serve Montana scholarship was born, and 100 incoming college students who’d demonstrated active citizenship and volunteerism were receiving $1000 to advance their college studies. It was pretty impressive to witness, and to this day, that legacy lives on and each fall we work with the same partners to award 100 scholarships. Student Assistance Foundation is now called Reach Higher Montana, but otherwise we still work closely both with them and the Governor’s Office of Community Service.

That’s a small part of the legacy that George Dennison left in Montana, but an example of how easy he made it look. We will do our best to open this space for others to remember George. He was a giant in this world, and he helped shape much of the infrastructure that continues to support service, civic engagement and education in Montana.  I remember him well, and it’s humbling to get to work in a field that he helped to start in Montana. Thanks for all you did George, we miss you.

MLK JR. DAY IN MONTANA

You probably know that Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service is coming and while many schools, campuses and businesses are closed, we treat it as a day of service. Here in Montana, MTCC sponsors an event called Read for Peace that was started by an MTCC VISTA named Bess Pallares several years back. Across the state, our campuses and their national service members, students, staff, faculty and volunteers work with nearby elementary schools to read about Dr. Kings, his words, ideas and legacy. After the reading, these volunteers work with kids to do either an art project or poem about Dr. King. It's really a lot of fun, and the volunteers and kids have a great time getting to know each other a little.

That brings us around to this great piece of news! Our current MTCC VISTA Leader, Sam Garetson's been on fire lately. He's organizing the read for Peace events in Missoula, and supporting our VISTAs and AmeriCorps members around Montana as they plan events. Sam recently recruited the University of Montana Men's Basketball Team to be readers for Missoula's MLK Read for Peace event. These student athletes will be reading to fifteen, third and fourth grade classrooms at Hellgate Elementary Intermediate on Monday, January 16th. We applaud them for taking time out of their days to bring the words and ideas of Dr. King to young people in Missoula.

JANUARY VISTAS GATHER FOR CLOSE OF SERVICE

Montana Campus Compact January VISTAs gather in Missoula for their Close of Service.  We had presenters and sessions to prepare them for life after AmeriCorps.  All sessions were held at the University of Montana in the Payne Family Native American Center and the Mansfield Library.   We had delicious lunches and dinners donated by local restaurants Five on Black , Pie Hole and coffee from Starbucks.  Our members exiting service are:

Brandon Fish- Native Science Field Center- Blackfeet Community College

Sam Garetson- Upward Bound- Salish Kootenai College

Constance Johnson- Garfield Literacy Project- Montana State University Billings

Kate Johnson-Student Marketing and Outreach- Bitterroot College

Dalya Kefi- kidsLINK Afterschool Expanded Opportunities Project- Montana State University Bozeman

Sunny Pate- Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming- University of Great Falls

Morgan Ray- Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming- Flathead Valley Community College

Michele Schahczenski- Children's Museum of Missoula- University of Montana

Coral Thede- Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming- Gillette College

Jon Van Dyke- Zootown Arts Community Center- University of Montana 

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As always, we wish you all the best of luck with life after AmeriCorps and keep in touch!

AMERICORPS VISTA MEMBER MICHELE SCHAHCZENSKI CHECKS IN

Michele Schahczenski is currently serving with the Children's Museum of Missoula and University of Montana.  She began her service last January 2015 and wraps up in early 2016.  I checked in with her to see how things were going and here's what she had to say:

What is your background that led you to serve as a VISTA member?

I was born in Whitehall, Montana and went to college in Missoula, Montana where I am currently serving as a VISTA. I’ve lived in Montana my whole life and after my undergraduate I was excited to get the chance to give back to the state that I love so much. I graduated with a degree in Psychology and a degree in Anthropology and knew that VISTA would be a great way to transition into the working world while simultaneously helping an awesome community organization.

Describe a typical work day at your host site.

I come in at 9:00 AM and check emails and go over what I am working on for that day or week and create a to-do list for the day. What I do each day varies on what projects or events are coming up. My main projects involve Exhibit Committee work, volunteer recruitment and coordination, and developing three main documents (an Exhibit Committee Handbook, a Volunteer Manual, and a Volunteer Coordinator Handbook). I usually work on at least one or two of these projects each day. I might have an Exhibit Committee meeting for which I need to set up an agenda or write up minutes. I may write or edit a section of a handbook or I might have a meeting or a tabling event to recruit volunteers. This is one of my favorite things about my service is that each day I can chip away at multiple bigger projects that require different skills to accomplish. It keeps things interesting and it is exciting to see the goals get closer and closer to being met.

How have you incorporated your campus partner into your efforts?

My campus partner, the University of Montana, has been most helpful in the volunteer mobilization aspect of my service. The University is an awesome resource for volunteers. The different tabling events put on by the Office of Civic Engagement (where my campus partner is located) have helped the Children’s Museum to increase its visibility and get students involved in volunteering.

What motivates you to serve as a VISTA?

For me the biggest motivator for doing this type of work is the tangible improvements I see VISTAs like myself making in such a wide variety of impactful organizations. This work has allowed me to take up a personally challenging position and entrusted me with the opportunity to make a real difference for an organization that I truly believe is making a positive impression on my community and the world. That is a lot more than a lot of other young adults my age can say about their work and that alone motivates me to do my best. 

What are your plans after VISTA?

Right after VISTA I plan on taking three months off to go on a bike tour in Central America. I am also applying for graduate school for the fall of 2016 at American University for a Master’s International in Public Anthropology. I will be continuing my community service work, as a Master’s International is a program that includes a 2 year Peace Corps term during your studies.

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Thank you for checking in, Michele!  We wish you the best of luck with the rest of your service and your future plans.  

MTCC VISTAS GIVE BACK THIS 9/11

Bozeman Fire Fighters and MTCC AmeriCorps VISTAs

On September 11^th National Day of Service and Remembrance 2015, MTCC AmeriCorps VISTAs gave back to their communities all over Montana and  northeastern Wyoming.  Every year Compact VISTAs participate in the September 11^th National Day of Service, and this year they did not disappoint. From Gillette, Wyoming up to Havre, Montana VISTAs volunteered at special events and led and supported local service projects.  Here is what our amazing VISTAs did:

Bozeman: Cards, Letters and Treats to First Responders
VISTA members In Bozeman created a program that engaged 500 local children to create thank you cards for their fire stations. They were able to garner free supplies from local businesses (ACE Hardware, The Children’s Museum, Costco and Staples) to create cards and received a donation of free donuts from Granny’s Gourmet Donuts. On September 11^th they delivered all of the cards and treats to four Fire Stations in the Bozeman area; the fire fighters were very grateful for the recognition.

Bozeman: Community Café Clean Up and KidsPack lunch preparation

The rest of the VISTAs in Bozeman participated in the KidsPak program, which benefits students who lack access to healthy/proper amounts of food. They also helped organize the local Community Café’s food pantry which benefits low income schools by providing lunch and dinner services to a few low income schools.

MTCC VISTA members and a Food Corps AmeriCorps member in Kalispell.

Dillon: In Case of Emergency
Down in Dillon the MTCC VISTA planned a disaster preparedness simulation. The goal was to educate the staff at her organization, the Women's Resource/Community Support Center on how to react in a disaster situation, while also engaging the Montana Western college students as mock victims of a disaster.

Kalispell: Red White and Blue Run
The VISTAs in Kalispell volunteered at Flathead Valley Community College’s Red, White, and Blue Color Run that was held in honor of the 9/11 day of service. Proceeds from the event benefited the Veteran’s Association Endowment Fund.

Billings: 14^th Annual Community Celebration of Life 
The MTCC VISTA member in Billings participated in the Annual Community Celebration of life, where in, community members helped clean-up the south side park and then attended a ceremony that included speeches from military members and awards given to those in service.

Gillette, WY: Girl Scouts American Heritage Badge
The MTCC Girl Scout VISTA in Gillette, Wyoming helped a local troop gain their American Heritage Badge. This included educating the girls on what happened on 9/11 and then helping them reflect on the importance of the event to our country.

Havre: Havre Remembers

Our members in Havre put together a service event at MSU-Northern to honor Havre’s service members and also victims of 9/11. Their local Salvation Army addressed the current forest fire disaster and collected donations for fire fighters and victims. Finally our members received 1500 American flags, from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which they used to decorate their campus on September 11^th.  

Missoula: Disaster Response Simulation

Several of the MTCC VISTAs based in Missoula put together a disaster seminar to address the proper way to address an emergency situation. Keynote speaker Sgt.  J.C. Denton discussed the importance of safety when involved in a high stress/emergency situation.

Missoula: Veteran Scholarship Fundraiser for Montana Code School

The rest of the members in Missoula raised funds to create a scholarship to the Montana Code School which will begin its Pilot Class this year. They solicited donations from local businesses including; the University Center at UM, The Dram Shop, The Montgomery Distillery, Five on Black and the Big Sky/Sentinel High School Booster Clubs.  They were able to gather $1,644.89; this amount will benefit a veteran scholarship at the code school.

Hamilton: Veterans Benefit Materials

The VISTA in Hamilton with UM Bitterroot College collected information from veterans organizations all over Ravalli County and created a display at Bitterroot College. The college now has a centralized location with all of the services/benefits available to veterans.

Great Falls: Great Falls Community Food Bank

The MTCC VISTA member in Great Falls helped out the Great Falls Community Food Bank by helping to unload trucks and organize donations. She also helped with the creation of 200+ backpack meals for students with limited access to food.

Overall, MTCC's members made positive impacts in each community where they serve.  I hope these examples of exemplary service and program creation inspires everyone to step-up and become a larger part of their community. 

MTCC VISTA SUMMER ASSOCIATE ALEX FOWLER CHECKS IN

Montana Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associates served ten weeks terms begining in June of 2015. These VISTAs focus on community needs like summer learning loss, nutrition, and STEM education.  This summer we had the pleasure of placing 28 VISTA Summer Associates across Montana. They came from near and far, and today we checked in with Alex Fowler who came to serve all the way from North Carolina!

Where are you from and how did you decide to come and serve in Montana?

I am from the foothills of North Carolina. I live in a rural town of 1,500 with pretty views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I currently am a junior philosophy major with minors in Health and Human Services and Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise at Wake Forest University located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Montana has always intrigued me as I have a love for nature and wilderness. I am halfway through college now and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get out west and experience things in a new light to refresh and rejuvenate myself as I go into the last half of my college career. I plan on pursuing a career in criminal/family law. Who knows? I could return to Missoula and attend law school at the University of Montana which I’ve heard has a rather prestigious program.

Where are you serving?  Can you describe a typical day or week?

I am serving at spectrUM Discovery Area in downtown Missoula. It was created to provide a place for children to interact with science in ways that they never could in a typical classroom setting. My position is the Americorps VISTA SciNation Summer Associate. SciNation is an organization of STEM and education leaders from Tribal Health and Human Services, Ronan Elementary School, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Wildlife Management Program, and Salish Kootenai College on the Flathead Reservation. They cooperate with spectrUM to help plan our outreach efforts and curriculum on the reservation. In a typical week I am either helping to plan the logistics and activities we will be taking during our events/conducting the events. We typically rent out a university vehicle, load up all of our supplies, and head out to the reservation site for that week to engage with students in numerous science activities.

What is the main focus of your project?

The main focus of our project is outreach. The youth we work with would typically have minimal opportunities to visit our museum during the summer. With summer break in full swing, there is a definite lack of educational endeavors that youth on the Flathead can participate in, and spectrUM and SciNation have collaborated to fill that gap. By partnering with school districts and other community partners, we have created a program called Science Bytes, which is in its inaugural year. You might be asking what Science Bytes actually is. For the majority of our outreach events, we have helped teach summer school for the first half of the days. During the second half, we transition to the area’s federally funded feeding site, located on the school’s premises and interact with even more students from the Boys and Girls Clubs Foundation to local church youth groups. Not only do the students get an enriching, nutritious meal for free, but they also get enriching science education at the same time. In one effort, we are helping to fill an educational barrier and aiding in promoting food security on the Flathead Reservation. Our shining achievement, however, was during the Arlee Celebration. We erected a large tent deemed as the “Science Learning Tent” manned with STEM role models from the Flathead community as well as numerous staff of our own. We served over 1,000 people in the two day period. The event was indisputably a success and was the climax of my service here. I was able to interact with the native culture in ways that I could never imagine, and I know I am a better person from the experience.

What do you plan on doing after your service?

I mentioned this earlier, but I will be making the 35 hour road trip with my best friend who is flying out to accompany me on the trek home. I will hope to finish school with high marks and enter the legal field.
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From all of us at the Montana Campus Compact affiliate campuses and network office, we thank Alex deeply for choosing to serve in Montana, and we wish him the best of luck in the future and hope to see him again in back in Montana.  

MTCC WELCOMES 16 NEW VISTAS TO SERVICE!

Montana's July 2015 VISTA Class with Lieutenant Governor Angela McLean

The Montana Campus Compact welcomed sixteen new AmeriCorps VISTA members into year-long terms of service with affiliate campuses last week.  These brand new MTCC VISTAs come from cities across the country as well as right here in Montana.  Staff and VISTA leaders spent five days in Helena helping to train, orient and  prepare these inspiring folks for their service.  

Following Montana's Pre-Service Orientation and Swearing In Ceremony with Lieutenant Governor McLean in Helena, MTCC's VISTA class spent two and a half days at the Montana Learning Center on Canyon Ferry for Campus Compact orientation and training, and learning the expectations of service with the Campus Compact network. Staff and members participated in a service projects with Helena Food Share, got familiar with one another, and MTCC's staff and VISTA leaders.  
On Saturday, July 18th we said our goodbyes and sent them on their way to their communities across the state. We wish them the best of luck during their service.  Our July 2015-2016 members and projects include:

Yaritza Aguilar- Dawson Community College Student Success- Glendive
Claire Anderson- Flathead Valley Community College and Sparrow's Nest- Kalispell
Olivia Carney- UM Blackstone LaunchPad- Missoula
Sara Feilzer- The University of Montana and spectrUM Discovery Area- Missoula
Lauren Hall-Montana State University and Montana After School Alliance- Statewide
Deanna Linn- Montana State University and the Girls STEM Collaborative- Bozeman
Jill McIntyre- MSU Blackstone LaunchPad- Bozeman 
Kelsey O'Donnell- UM Blackstone LaunchPad- Missoula
Alexandra Opie- Montana State University and the Children's Museum- Bozeman
Alanna Reid- The University of Montana and Girl Scouts- Missoula
Kelsie Severson-The University of Montana and Big Sky High School- Missoula
Erik Swanson- UM and the Missoula Public Library MakerSpace- Missoula
Jennifer Thimell- MSU Northern Lights Student Success- Havre
Michelle Van Meter- MSU Northern and HRDC IV- Havre
Brylee Zumpf- The University of Montana Western and Women's Resource Center- Dillon
Austin Terreri- VISTA Leader- Statewide, from MTCC Network Office

Keep checking back as we will be posting about the successes and strides our members are making in communities across the state!

CAMPUS ELECTION ENGAGEMENT WRAP-UP

Students at Augustana College
 prepare the sidewalks before Election Day

MTCC’s election engagement work successfully mobilized over 15,000 college students and community members across the region in the summer and fall of 2014. Working closely with the national Campus Election Engagement Project (or “CEEP”) a grassroots, college-focused initiative begun by author Paul Loeb, Campus Compact institutions in Montana and South Dakota rose to the challenge of engaging students volunteers, voters and engaged citizens. The project mobilized college students to serve with local organization to increase youth voter turnout.  At least 12,000 college students and young people across Montana and South Dakota were registered to vote in the 2014 midterm elections.

What happened in Montana and South Dakota?

Students at the University of Montana
show what they'd turn out for!

In the fall of 2014 college students registered to vote in new and resourceful ways, including: as part of freshman orientations; at parades and rallies; and by tapping into competitive school spirit. The Forward Montana Foundation worked with the University of Montana and set a goal of registering 10,000 new voters. At the final tally, this goal was exceeded with the final new voter count of 10,737!  Montana State University used school pride using the theme “Cat Country Votes!” This slogan was printed on shirts and used at sporting events, peer-to-peer voter registration around campus, and during a large event on September 23, National Voter Registration Day. Over 500 students were registered at MSU. Other campuses used homecoming and orientation events to register students to vote, relying heavily on student volunteers registering their peers.

Students at Augustana College pass
out candy and reminders to vote
during the "Trick or Vote" event

In discussions with college students across the region, many expressed that if they had better access to nonpartisan information; they would feel more comfortable voting.  To address this, CEEP created a Nonpartisan Candidate Guide that presented the candidates for Montana’s Senate race and their positions on several issues. The format was designed to be a easy-to-digest, easily understood, nonpartisan tool and MTCC students, faculty and staff shared their appreciation for the resource. CEEP also created a state-specific Student Voter Guides that presented frequently asked questions by students, (e.g. What ID do I need to bring with me? Where can I find my polling location?) and the information new student voters would need for their respective states. The CEEP tools received high marks, and were distributed in the thousands to students at MSU, UM, Salish Kootenai College, Bitterroot College, Fort Peck Community College and Augustana College in South Dakota. Overall, campuses noted significant increases to their educational efforts in many cases thanks to the support and resources provided by Campus Compact and the Election Engagement Project.

Fort Peck Community College students
drive their peers to the poll

Election Day 2014 saw a push from campuses and organizations to get students to the polls. Salish Kootenai College and Fort Peck Community College offered gathering places for students, staff, and faculty to enjoy refreshments, while rides to the polls were provided for all who needed them.  Student volunteers offered free rides to the polls at Montana’s flagship universities, Montana State University and and the University of Montana, encouraging their peers in classes, dining halls, residence halls, and other gathering locations to take the time to go cast a ballot.

A mini grant provided to the Montana Public Interest Research Group or “MontPIRG” helped student interns to make 3,347 get out the vote calls through phone banking.

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Forward Montana Foundation changed the lyrics of the popular song “It’s All About That Bass,” to be, “I’m All About That Vote” encouraging students to vote, and used social media to steer students to the music video, “Turn Out for What” that features celebrities standing up for the issues they value and asking students what they would “turn out” for. Campus social media sites saw a huge increases in traffic during Election Day as updates were posted and free rides promoted. Fort Peck Community College staff were interviewed on the local radio station and discussed the importance of voting; the interview was videotaped and put on the college’s Facebook page to raise awareness among students!

At Augustana College in South Dakota twenty student volunteers hosted a full week of events leading up to election day and culminating in a well-attended results party. Following these 2014 election engagement work, Augie’s curriculum advisory board began to explore voter engagement efforts in its curriculum, utilizing the input of our South Dakota intern, Brittany Cleveland. 

Students from Augustana College show their
 enthusiasm for voting with their school mascot,
Augie the Viking on Election Day

Sustainable Partnerships
When asked if they would support future election engagement work, staff from the Bitterroot College UM, answered:“Yes! Through the class many students got the information they’d not otherwise have gotten. The class curriculum was altered slightly to accommodate Campus Election Engagement Project ideas and resources.” Others across the region echoed the sentiment and many institutions are already preparing for the 2016 election cycle. With great feedback, plenty of documentation, and strong connections made this year, the 2016 election engagement initiative stands a strong chance of increasing student voter turnout, volunteer engagement and campaign support, making lasting impacts for years to come. 

Big Thanks!
This great work was made possible with generous support of the Campus Election Engagement Project, Ohio Campus Compact, and the hard work of Brenda Cole working from Montana, and Brittany Cleveland working from South Dakota. 

Students from Montana State University
offer rides to the polls.