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Current VISTAs
  
Amanda Silic,
Antioch Cares:
Amanda will begin her
year of service in December, 2009 with Antioch Cares. She will be
helping the program with capacity building, volunteer management, and
program development. Amanda graduated in 2007 with a degree in Zoology
from Michigan State and spent the last two years as an AmeriCorps
volunteer with City Year. It was there that she got the volunteering bug
and she hopes to continue her work in the non-profit world after her
year as a VISTA member.
Jerrell Braden,
South Lansing Community Development
Association (SLCDA):
Jerrell will start his position as
Community Outreach Coordinator at the SLCDA on August 23, 2009. As such,
he will be responsible for helping out with the day to day operations of
the SLCDA and strengthening the organizations growing social media
presence. Jerrell is a graduate of Michigan State University with a
degree in social relations. Jerrell has previous experience as an
environmental consultant, which fits with the SLCDA's mission to
continue the "greening" of South Lansing. After his term of service,
Jerrell hopes to continue his work in the non-profit sector.
Jeana-Dee Allen, NorthWest
Initiative: Jeana-Dee began her year of service as a
Community Building Assistant in July of 2009. She has a strong
background in documentary journalism and non-profit work. She started at
the NWI as a volunteer filmmaker. In her year of service, she will
produce a documentary film about re-entry. She will also work to build
the capacity of programs at the NWI. She plans to continue using her
skills in mixed media to help non-profits gain funding through strong
visual and audio documentation.
Christine Harris,
New
Way In, INC:
Christina has been working with New
Way In, Inc. providing ex-offender re-entry services since July of 2009.
She has also served as a volunteer for Capital Area Community Services,
Volunteers of America, and America Reads/America Counts at Michigan
State University. Christina intends to further use her acquired skills
to promote community rehabilitation, education, workforce development,
ex-offender re-entry and collaboration amongst non-profit organizations
Anneli Lukas,
Refugee Development
Center: Anneli will begin her service in
August '09, assisting with English as a second language classes,
supervising after-school tutoring, and helping people learn to drive.
She graduated from Hillsdale College with a major in History, and minor
in Classical Studies, and in the past several years has worked with the
under-privileged in downtown Atlanta, India, and New Orleans after
Hurricane Katrina. This position offers her the chance to continue to
pursue her dreams while living in Lansing--the town of her choice.
Lori Eva,
North
Neighborhood Center: Lori will be
working at NNC, a part of NorthWest Initiative. Lori is an extremely
dedicated volunteer and has been working and/or volunteering with
organizations such as the Impact Initiative System of Care (Community
Mental Health), foster care, and shelter agencies since 1991. Her work
with North Neighborhood Center, a part of the NorthWest Initiative will
include youth program development through Dec. 2009.
Chad Badgero,
Old Town Commercial Association: Chad has M.A. in
Theatre from MSU and has a wide background in teaching and volunteering.
He has also served as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. These
experiences have driven him to pursue VISTA to help restore Old Town
Lansing. Following his service in December 2009, he hopes to stay
involved in community revitalization efforts and continue volunteering.
Caitlin Kappel,
Reach Studio Art Center:
Coming soon...
Justin Zeller,
Lansing Teen Challenge:
Justin started with Lansing Teen
Challenge in July '09. He works on volunteer recruiting, organizational
work, fund-raising, and project planning. He is a graduate of Michigan
State University with a B.A.in Psychology. He has worked for the
volunteer organizations: MSU Into theStreets, MSU Alternative Spring
Break, and various other agencies throughout the Lansing area. He hopes
to attend graduate school after his service at Lansing Teen Challenge is
fulfilled.
Meet
Our Summer Associates:
At NorthWest Initiative:
Ashley Benson:
Ashley is a 19 year old and incoming Junior at Western Michigan
University. She is a business major and will be minoring in Spanish. She
is excited to work with NWI this summer and has previous experience
working with kids for the last three years. She is overjoyed to be a
part of the Summer Associates. She plans on building fun and healthy
relationships with children and helping them to become bright stars that
will shine all over the world.
Marcus Canady: Marcus is a 19 year old Sophomore
attending Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. He is very happy and excited
to be working with the NWI this summer. He spent past time working with
children and other child care programs in the area and feels that
working with children is one of his strongest areas. He looks forward to
new opportunities that will be presented to him through his Summer
Associateship.
Dylan Rodgers: Dylan is a MSUE graduate with a degree
in Interdisciplinary Humanities. A North Lansing resident, he hopes to
improve the lives of others in his city through hard work and
understanding. His interests include bicycling, making music, painting,
reading and smiling at strangers. Dylan is excited to be getting married
this coming September.
At Reach
Studio Art Center:
Natalie Walicki: Natalie is a Summer Associate at Reach
and student at MSU's Arts and Humanities. Natalie is very invested both
in community engagement and the arts. She also enjoys working with kids,
so the Art Truck Program (offering experiences to children at the
Lansing Parks and Recreation Summer camps) is very appealing.
Hailey Chenevert: Hailey grew up in Ann Arbor, MI and
attended MSU. Currently she is a Summer Associate at Reach Studio Art
Center working on their new summer program: The Art Truck. She hopes to
combine what she is learning at REACH with her studies in the
Residential College in the Arts and Humanities at MUS to work in a
non-profit organization providing art programming for community youth.
John Szilagyi: John grew up in the Lansing Area and attended
Michigan State University. After graduating in 2005 he decided to
undertake a year of AmeriCorps State service where he managed a youth
mentoring program for Ingham County 4-H. Following this, he moved to
Urbana Illinois to attend graduate school. In 2009, he graduated with a
MS in Library and Information Science. He then moved back to Lansing and
is now a PWC VISTA Summer Associate.
At The
Garden Project and Greater Lansing Food Bank:
Brian Bienkowski: For Brian, becoming a VISTA Summer
Associate was his first step towards a new career path. After college,
he worked in manufacturing for close to five years, having plenty of
time to contemplate what he wanted to do with his life. After seeing
that Michigan State University offers a Masters in Journalism with a
concentration in environmental issues and policy, he knew he'd found
what he was looking for. Through the environmental journalism program,
he hopes to supplement his core courses with a focus on food policy,
sustainability, and agricultural economics. The Summer Associate VISTA
position gave him the opportunity to work with the Lansing Garden
Project who tackle these issues on the community level, providing
invaluable exposure and knowledge.
Kaitlyn Rich:
Kaityln is a 22 year old, MI native and recent
graduate of MSU. She became interested in sustainability, community
gardens and other environmental issues after taking an elective class on
renewable energy. She was particularly drawn to community gardens and
the garden project because of her love of food and do-it-yourself
ethics. In high hopes of learning a lot and contributing much, she will
be keeping a weekly blog about her service at
http://ww.slumberish.blogspot.com.
Chris Hoskins: Coming soon...
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