AmeriCorps*VISTA News
2007-08 Year-End VISTA Newsletter
Celebrating a Year of Service
Meet the 2008-2009 VISTA Team!
Celebrating a Year of Service
NC Campus Compact celebrated the work and accomplishments of the 2007-2008 AmeriCorps*VISTA members during the first annual VISTA Recognition Banquet held on June 20, 2008 at the O.Henry Hotel in Greensboro.
VISTA members individually recognized each other, sharing each member’s favorite memories, accomplishments, future plans, as well as other VISTA’s reflections of each other. These stories brought many laughs and smiles, along with a few tears, as the VISTAs reflected on the past year of service, and the strong bonds they have formed within the team.
VISTA Leader Kristen Carter presented her Impact Capstone, highlighting service accomplishments from each member, emphasizing the larger state-wide impact of the VISTA program this past year, and sharing the vision for the year ahead. This year’s VISTA team has significantly increased the number of students engaged in service, deepened leadership among students, strengthened community partnerships, and made a real impact in the mission to alleviate poverty in our state and region, through a variety of related community needs and social issues, including hunger and homelessness, literacy and mentoring, environmental sustainability, and disaster response in the Gulf region.
NC Campus Compact VISTA Alumni were also invited tobe recognized and celebrated in the event. Alums Ben Haywood (Pfeiffer University VISTA 2005-2006) and Winter Brown (Meredith College VISTA 2003-2004 and VISTA Leader 2004-2005) attended as special guests and spoke about the importance of service and the VISTA program, and how the VISTA experience has impacted their lives beyond their service year. Ben was hired full time by Pfeiffer University after his VISTA year, continuing to work with the Francis Center for Servant Leadership and serving as the VISTA Supervisor. This summer he will begin working on his Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of South Carolina. Winter is now working on her doctorate in Political Theory, with a secondary focus on Race and Ethnic Politics at Duke University. She continues her involvement with civic engagement programming within the NC Campus Compact network as a Project Advisor with DukeEngage.
The recognition banquet was a wonderful closing to an amazing year of service and an incredible VISTA team. “Opportunities to celebrate and acknowledge the inspirational and transformative work of our VISTA’s helps ground me in the knowledge that the torch of social justice and substantive, sustainable community change has been passed along to capable, compassionate hands and will continue to shine hope into the darkness of despair and poverty,” states Leslie Garvin, Associate Director of NC Campus Compact. We wish the VISTAs the very best in their future endeavors and look forward to continuing to connect with them as members of our alumni network. As Kristen said to the VISTAs at the banquet, “You truly are the change we all wish to see in this world.”
Meet the 2008-2009 VISTA Team!
Welcome Back Returning VISTAs:
Katharine Baas
Elon University -2nd year
Hometown: Hillsborough, NC
College: University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Major: Business Management
Kate Prichard
Lees-McRae College
(served 1st VISTA year at Mars Hill College)
Hometown: Clemson, SC
College: Mars Hill College (NC)
Major: Business Administration
Lauren Smalley
University of North Carolina at Greensboro – 2nd year
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
College: Guilford College (NC)
Major: Psychology & Religious Studies |
Justin Atkinson
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
(served 1st VISTA year at East Carolina University)
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
College: Gettysburg College (PA)
Major: Philosophy & English
Janet Jones
Warren Wilson College – 3rd year
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
College: Universidad de LaSalle (Quintana Roo, Mexico)
Major: Masters in Applied Linguistics
Jamarl Clark
North Carolina Campus Compact state office
(began first year of service in February 2008)
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
College: Appalachian State University (NC)
Major: Public Communication
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Welcome New VISTA Members:
Daniel Johnson
Brevard College
Hometown: Greensboro, NC
College: NC Agricultural & Technical State University
Major: Business Administration/Management
Marcy La Bossiere
Central Piedmont Community College
Hometown: Coventry, RI
College: University of Rhode Island
Major: Human Development
Stephen Shaheen
Davidson County Community College
Hometown: Rocky Mount, NC
College: East Carolina University (NC)
Major: Biology (Pre-Med)
Roger Palmer
Duke University
* Served for 2 years with AmeriCorps*NCCC
Hometown: Irving, TX
College: University of Texas at Arlington
Major: Broadcast Communications
Jennifer Bergman
East Carolina University
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
College: Miami University (OH)
Major: Economics & Mathematics
Stephanie Bukoski
Gardner-Webb University
Hometown: Waimea, HI
College: University of Hawaii at Hilo
Major: Political Science
Valerie Justis
Greensboro College
* Served for 2 years with AmeriCorps*NCCC
Hometown: Wallops Island, VA/Greensboro, NC
College: Logwood College (VA)
Major: Communication Disorders
Amanda Szabo
Guilford College
Hometown: Franklin, TN
College: Guilford College (NC)
Major: Visual Arts
Brandon Ostwalt
Lenoir-Rhyne College
Hometown: Troutman, NC
College: Lenoir-Rhyne College
Major: History
Amy Carraux
Mars Hill College
*Served as a VISTA with Massachusetts Campus Compact
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
College: Elon, NC
Major: Leisure & Sport Management |
April Brohawn
Meredith College
*Served as a VISTA with Volunteer Frederick, Inc. (MD)
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
College: University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Major: French
Charles Nichols
North Carolina Central University
Hometown: Raleigh, NC
College: Duke University
Major: Economics
Daniel Shattuck
North Carolina State University
Hometown: Clayton, NC
College: North Carolina State University
Major: Applied Anthropology
Jessica Baxter
Peace College
*Served as an AmeriCorps member with Habitat for Humanity(FL)
Hometown: Pompano Beach, FL
College: Florida Atlantic University
Major: Arts & Humanities
Susannah Bales
Pfeiffer University
Hometown: Gastonia, NC
College: Pfeiffer University
Major: Religion
Hillary Stoker
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Hometown: Beavercreek, OH
College: Elon University (NC)
Major: Journalism
Yasmine Farley
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Hometown: Yanceyville, NC
College: University of North Carolina at Wilmington (NC)
Major: English
Melissa Duquette
Wake Forest University
Hometown: Williamsville, NY
College: State University of New York at Buffalo
Major: Communication & Sociology
Katie Graunke
Western Carolina University
Hometown: Mount Airy, NC
College: Western Carolina University (NC)
Major: Social Work and Special Education
Leigh Manuel
Wingate University
Hometown: Bartow, FL
College: University of North Florida
Major: English
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