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 VISTA ALUMNA PROFILE: RECYNTHIA ROBINSON

Rey participates in MTCC's Service Selfie day!

 Recynthia Robinson served as a Montana Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA member throughout 2014 and into February of this year. Rey worked with the Lewis and Clark region of the Troops to Teacher Project and Montana State University in Bozeman. Troops to Teachers helps military veterans transition into teaching careers and links those teachers with parts of the country suffering teacher shortages. I talked to Rey about her life and the changes that have occurred since making her commitment to serve as a VISTA. I wanted to know how her life had changed from before her VISTA service to now, a few months later.  Rey said she had heard about VISTA from a former mentor at University of Arizona. She was near graduation and applying for jobs, but she realized that she was lacking real world experience and that was a challenge when applying for tribal or state employment. She originally applied because of her mentor’s encouragement after graduating in the fall of 2012, but when she received a call from a program in Maine, she chose not to accept because the distance was too great for her to move.

Rey with
MSU Dean Lynda Ransdell,
& Supervisor Le Gaub

Instead, Rey waited a year and when she saw the Troops to Teachers position with Montana Campus Compact and it was dealing with higher education and Indigenous people. Education and working with native youth was a very important factor for her in applying.

Rey said what she appreciated about her VISTA service was applying her personal experiences to the Troops to Teachers program and learning how to interact with and serve indigenous veterans. She enjoyed being able to ask questions and learn the history and background of the outreach, and then to add a different perspective to the conversation of developing teachers in a teacher shortage area.
Rey said some of the challenges she faced were cultural, political, and personal. She said as a Navajo and the only indigenous person at her host site, whose project was to reach Indigenous veterans and develop teachers, sometimes it was hard because she felt like she needed to be an expert on native culture and indigenous peoples. She said she was able to tell others when they asked what to call her, to refer to her as either Navajo, which is her tribal affiliation, or as indigenous. She said those terms were okay for her. Another challenge she faced were the political viewpoints which came with working with many veterans. She said many times people would discuss political or social issues, and although she had viewpoints, she knew as a VISTA it was better to seek common ground. The biggest challenges Rey faced were family emergencies back home. She said in her culture, nieces and nephews are considered immediate family; and on two occasions she was called upon to make the long and expensive trip home.

Recynthia Robinson,
MTCC VISTA Alum 2014-2015

Service helped her develop professionally; she especially learned how to communicate well. She said networking and following up with others was a big aspect of that. She said it was a very valuable tool to use for her host site and developing the project. Her biggest accomplishment during her term of service was completing the VISTA project. Rey was able to input over 120 entries of institutions of higher education into the database she helped create, including over 60 teacher preparation programs and over 40 veteran centers.
 Rey said she will use her VISTA experience to continue helping Indigenous people and after her service ended, she stayed in Bozeman and began to work with Ed Ready Montana, a program led by the University of Montana. She is working on outreach to reservation communities in the Southeastern Montana to help middle, and high school students  improve academic skills and increase educational opportunities. She said she has also started looking into Veterans associations closer to her home in Arizona and finding a way she can be involved in helping her own community. One idea she has is becoming a language teacher to younger Navajo children in her rural community.

Rey’s service to the Montana Campus Compact helped expand the capacity of MSU Bozeman and Troops to Teachers program, and provided tools to indigenous veterans as they transition to serving high needs communities stateside.

MONTANA TECH INVESTS IN COMMUNITY!

MTCC AmeriCorps VISTA member Cody LaBean, serving with Montana Tech's Institute for Educational Opportunities and Butte's Local College Access Network, assisted with National TRiO Day on February 22nd in Helena.  Here's what he had to say about it:
"National TRIO Day is a 'National Day of Service' that helps address the complex needs of young people and adults aspiring to improve their lives. TRiO Day was an opportunity for over 100 TRiO Educational Talent Search and Upward Bound students from Butte, Deer Lodge, and Helena to volunteer, visit campuses and consider postsecondary education. The group visited two Montana higher education institutions, and it highlighted the need for investment in these individuals to develop their talents to become actively engaged citizens."

He goes on to say, "The day involved the following: a tour of Helena College, a guest speaker from Carroll College, a trip to the Capital Building, a speed cup stacking tournament for middle school Educational Talent Search participants, and service opportunities for Upward Bound students at the Helena Food Share, Humane Society, and Bryant Elementary school."

"My role was to help chaperon the event, and assist the Butte TRiO Coordinator lead a group of students to serve with the Helena Humane Society. I led the final reflection activity, which I called "Dance to Reflect."  The reflection activity highlighted what the students felt were the pros and cons of this year's TRiO Day."
Keep up the amazing work, Cody!

Cody at the Helena Humane Society.

HAPPY 50, VISTA!

A vintage VISTA poster, apparently before Alaska was around?

The VISTA program is celebrating its 50th anniversary! Over there years, there have been an amazing Montana Campus Compact, we bring the resources of a network of engaged colleges and universities to this important work. VISTAs who have served with us over the years have helped start up the successful Graduation Matters program, have helped open and expand food pantries, veterans services offices, service-learning offices, afterschool programs. MTCC VISTAs have supported college access and success work, and have built capacity for college student volunteers to address community needs all along the way. Thank you for the support in Montana, AmeriCorps​ VISTA!
and diverse set of Americans who have served, great community-based solutions to poverty problems started and sustained, and huge, positive and direct impacts on people living in poverty.

Specifically, we've had great service over the years from the Corporation for National and Community Service and in particular the Montana office. Over the years, folks like John Allen, Jane Piilola, Jackie Girard, Amy Busch and Anna Yeagle have provided an extremely high level of service to Montana Campus Compact. These folks have helped behind the scenes with grants, funding, member support, impact reporting and all of the day-to-day support that's often overlooked.

In some ways, a fiftieth anniversary of an antipoverty program can't help but be bittersweet. It's an anniversary that provides an important time for reflection and consideration about how we expand good work that's happening, and significantly move more Americans out of poverty. The work is far from complete, and in many ways the challenges of poverty continue to be complex, and offer a rallying point for how we do better as a society.

Here in Montana, we're celebrating the VISTA 50th with Governor Bullock and Corporation CEO Wendy Spencer on March 12th in Helena. Here's the link for that event if you'd like to attend!