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

MTCC VISTA DEANNA LINN BRINGS NANOTECHNOLOGY OUTREACH TO MSU

Deanna Linn is a Montana Campus Compact VISTA serving with the Girls STEM Collaborative at Montana State University.  She began her service in July 2015.  Below is a press release about the amazing work Deanna is doing at MSU.

BOZEMAN, Mont.—An annual Halloween festival for children received an infusion of nanotechnology when an AmeriCorps VISTA member based at Montana State University brought science outreach activities to the university’s Family & Graduate Housing.

FGH hosts an annual Pumpkin Festival near Halloween, and Deanna Linn, who serves via Montana Campus Compact within MSU’s Extended University, recruited undergraduate and graduate students from MSU’s Chemical and BiologicalEngineering Department to volunteer at the Oct. 17 event.

The team presented several hands-on science activities to approximately 115 children and their families who attended the event, which also included a costume contest, pie-eating contest and pumpkin catapult along with pumpkin bowling, pumpkin painting, bean bag toss, arts and crafts, sack race, tic-tac-toe, cookie decorating, science experiments with bubbles and dry ice, and face painting. This is the first time the annual event has included a NanoDays outreach component. MSU Extended University is part of a national program that helps the public better understand nanoscale science and engineering

Families from around the world live in MSU’s Family Housing complex, where children range from newborn to 18 and who hail from all backgrounds: single-parent families, low-income families, military families, etc. Many countries are also represented, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, India, China, Japan, Nepal, Lebanon and Brazil as well as families from around Montana and the U.S.

The partnership was a success and has opened up possibilities for future NanoDays and other STEM outreach projects between MSU Family and Graduate Housing and MSU Extended University. Linn shared information about the partnership with the national project, the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network, to inspire other organizations to partner with their local Family Housing complex.

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Great work, Deanna!  We can't wait for our next check in to see what all you have accomplished. Keep up the amazing work!

COMPACT VISTA DALYA KEFI CHECKS IN

Dalya Kefi has served in since this January with Montana State University and the Greater Gallatin United Way's kidsLINK Afterschool Program, so we decided to check in and share the great work she has been doing.

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

MTCC AmeriCorps VISTA Dalya Kefi

My mother was in the Peace Corps when she was my age, and both of my parents worked with the refugee community while I was growing up. I was exposed to non-profit work and international development as a child and always knew I would work with disadvantaged populations. I have always had in interest in issues of poverty, equitable access to education, and social justice, so when I was looking for a job after graduating, AmeriCorps VISTA was a natural step.

Describe a typical work day at your host site.

This summer, I supported afternoon youth enrichment programming  at the YMCA Y Achievers summer literacy camp. That means my days are constantly changing. Every day at noon, the campers come to us from their morning teachers, where they work on literacy from 8-12. In the afternoons, they participated in a normal camp setting. We played games, made crafts, went on field trips and visited the local swimming pool. This is a big change from my normal day while at the Greater Gallatin United Way. While working on the kidsLINK Afterschool program, I spend most of my day behind a desk in the office. I will attend meetings in the community, plan for the upcoming 2015-2016 school year, and work with the World Language coordinators to establish a sustainable afterschool world language program for elementary students.

How have you incorporated your campus partner into your work?

My campus partner, the MSU Department of Education, works closeup with the kidsLINK Afterschool program during the school year. Education students host afterschool book and tech clubs for students in the various elementary schools. The World Language classes also work with MSU, and have student assistants from the MSU Department of Modern Languages for larger groups in the afternoon lessons.

What motivates you to do a year of VISTA service?

Quality education is a necessity. All children, regardless of socioeconomic factors, should have access to quality, affordable education. In the kidsLINK Afterschool programs, we support working families and make sure all students have the opportunity to enjoy extracurricular activities, receive a healthy snack, and have a safe place to be afterschool while their parents are at work.  kidsLINK Afterschool also provides homework help, helping kids complete homework for the next school day. By supporting families and kids in this way, we are helping students reach their full potential and be successful in school and at home.

What are your plans after VISTA?

After my VISTA year, I hope to attend law school and focus on international human rights law. I would like to work in international development with refugees and live overseas.
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Thank you for your service with the Compact, Dalya!

CURRENT MEMBER CAT LENIS CHECKS IN FROM SPARROWS NEST

Cat Lenis is serving as a Montana Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA with Sparrow's Nest of Northwest Montana.  I was lucky enough to get in touch with her and ask questions about the amazing work she has done and is continuing to do for the Flathead Valley.

What is your background that led you to serve as a VISTA member?
I was born, raised and went to undergrad and grad school in Worcester, Massachusetts.  Although I love it there I was ready for something new once I graduated with my Master’s in Community Development and Planning.  I knew some people that did a year of VISTA and it seemed like a good post-college transition and opportunity to test out my skills. For some reason-- although I knew no one here, Montana popped into my head. So I looked for positions here. I’ve worked with youth in various capacities—from teaching middle school girls to working at a residential youth home for teens with various mental health challenges, so knew I’d want to work within that realm. I liked that VISTA wasn’t direct service and I liked that the organization I ended up working for—Sparrow’s Nest of NW MT, was a startup at the grassroots level.

Describe a typical workday at your host site.
My day typically runs 9:00-5:00 but there are the occasional community presentations at varying times: e.g. a 6:45 am Rotary meeting or a 7:00pm Women’s group potluck. My office is on the second floor of a local church’s parish house so when I’m not there (which again, really varies) I’m often at a meeting or presentation or picking up or dropping off donations (both monetary and not).
When I am at the office I answer a lot emails, social media messages and phone calls as I manage those three contact portals. I’m also always trying to stay up to date on federal and state policy surrounding youth homelessness as well as best practices. There’s also the occasional grant-writing, agenda writing, newsletter making, planning and just general organizing.

How have you incorporated your campus partner into your work efforts?  

Our campus partner liaison, Wendy, at FVCC has a seemingly endless supply of knowledge regarding volunteer recruitment, creative donation drives and cool fundraising ideas. She has also helped supply us with some great college student volunteers. There are so many more ways we can partner with FVCC and we plan on doing so in the very near future: mainly our upcoming April awareness campaign of which I will not currently divulge. 

What are your motivating factors that justify this type of work?
With great power comes great responsibility. No, but seriously. I was privileged enough to go to university and work at some amazing places and don’t want to “waste” my education or experiences. Also, there’s a lot of injustice in this world and I can’t possibly sit idly by. There are so many innovative and great ways to solve issues and I just love seeing communities using their unique strengths to aid their current needs. The possibilities are endless and just so beautiful.

What are your plans after VISTA?
Travel! Hopefully. Move farther West or abroad. Work for a place that I believe in. Do a lot of activities outdoors, build something, continue to meet inspirational people… challenge myself towards something that means something for something infinitely larger than myself. Or something.

Keep up with Sparrow's Nest of Northwest Montana and all of the amazing strides they're making on FaceBook.  We wish you the best of luck with the conclusion of your service as well as your future endeavors. We know you'll do amazing things wherever you go.

MTCC VISTA ALUMNA BESS PALLARES CHECKS IN

Bess Pallares, MTCC VISTA Alum

This year marks the 50th anniversary of VISTA.  In celebration of this special anniversary we will be featuring alumni periodically to see where they are now.  We checked in with Bess Pallares who served as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the University of Montana and Missoula County Public Schools.  Check out the amazing things she has done and is currently doing below.  Thank you for your service, Bess and good luck with everything you do!

Where did you serve?

I served with Missoula County Public Schools and University of Montana as a VISTA with the Partners In Education project from July 2010 to July 2012.

What was your service experience like and how did your project address the poverty problem in your community?

My service experience involved a lot of capacity building, program evaluation, and community partner development. Coming from a journalism background these were new challenges for me, but I had great support from my supervisor and the other excellent folks with Missoula County Public Schools and its partner organizations. My work focused on two main areas: the Graduation Matters Missoula campaign and addressing volunteer policies and involvement in the schools. These issues play a huge role in not only assisting students and families currently experiencing poverty, but in providing a strong foundation for students to succeed and stand a better chance of moving out of poverty as adults. The earning potential and quality of life for high school graduates is significantly stronger than those who drop out. My work was centered around partnering with community organizations to support school initiatives in support of graduation and making sure more volunteers can be involved safely in the schools to provide much-needed assistance for teachers with over-crowded classrooms and few resources.

During your service, what accomplishment are you most proud of?

In my first year of service I helped develop a new district policy that requires MCPS volunteers who work with students unsupervised to undergo a criminal background check. I researched background-checking systems and developed print and digital forms for volunteers to register with the district and submit to the checks, as well as a database to track volunteers and keep schools updated on volunteer permissions. Keeping the importance of parent involvement and affordability to families experiencing poverty in mind, we chose a system that cost just $6.50 per check, and any parent or volunteer who was unable to pay for their background check had the fee covered by the district or special Parent Teacher Association funds. This was a fundamental step in allowing the district to increase community involvement while helping to ensure student safety in schools.

Where are you today and what are you doing?

I live in Portland, Oregon, and I’m halfway through a master’s in book publishing at Portland State University. I work as a freelance comic book editor, and for the next year will serve as the acquisitions co-manager for Ooligan Press, the student-run publishing house based at PSU.

How has your service impacted you personally and professionally?

Personally, as a graduate student with limited means and a family to support, I have continued to use the lessons in thrifty living I developed as a VISTA. I’ve learned I can handle just about anything for two years! Professionally, the confidence I developed in building community partnerships and the problem-solving skills I learned during my service have helped me boldly pursue my dream career as a comic book editor. The job is vastly different, but through VISTA I developed fearlessness and faith in my own abilities. I am forever grateful for my Montana Campus Compact experience and friends I made in the program.

Keep in touch, Bess and good luck!