February VISTA Spotlight
I had the pleasure of interviewing ex-VISTA LaNae Edwards. LaNae used to be a VISTA at Illinois Joining Forces, an organization that provides many types of care, support, and resources to veterans and their families when they need it. I had the opportunity to catch up with her and get to know what she is up to nowadays, professionally. As a VISTA, LaNae worked as the organization’s community outreach liaison. While in that role, she worked with the senior director of development and she set up meetings for potential partnerships, helped with social media engagement, assisted with community outreach initiatives…
January VISTA Spotlight
I had the pleasure of speaking with Jesenia Hiraldo, a former VISTA who just completed her service year at Columbia College in November. She served as the Communications department’s communication coordinator and before she left, I had the opportunity to speak with her about how she liked her service year and any plans she has post-VISTA. During her service year, Jesenia got to participate in Columbia’s Giving Tree, a clothes & book drive, she helped out with that hosts showcases for other Illinois based schools. She also helped with electronic compliance binders that help record important information for grants and…
December VISTA Spotlight
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Sharonda Simmons, a current VISTA who serves as the Coordinator for National Louis University’s Veteran’s Department. She recently helped with her organization’s Veteran’s Week and I also got to see what else she’s been up to as her service year has progressed. Veteran’s Week is a week that acknowledges this country’s veterans, both living and dead. Agencies and community partners help salute veterans by participating in week-long activities such as Snack and Write and the week also gives civilians a chance to thank veterans for their service. During that week, Sharonda had the…
October VISTA Spotlight
I recently had the opportunity to interview Ernest Jefferson, an ILCC VISTA currently serving at North Park University. He is about to finish up his service year in November, so it was nice to catch up with him to discuss his service year and post-service year plans. J: Where did you serve and what is your title during your VISTA service year? E: North Park University, Chicago IL. My title is Catalyst on Campus Coordinator. J: What projects/tasks did you work on during your service year? E: I was primarily responsible for coordinating the Catalyst on Campus program. Catalyst 606…
December Membership Spotlight
Neighbor2Neighbor (N2N) is a Northwestern University initiative that promotes learning and service rooted in the local community. This initiative started last year and continues to develop and expand thanks to the current Illinois Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA, Kaitlynn Durham. This initiative began to help Northwestern become better neighbors to their surrounding communities. The goal of Neighbor2Neighbor is to create ethical and mutually beneficial relationships with communities, the focus being on the North of Howard area within the Rogers Park neighborhood, just south of Northwestern University. Neighbor2Neighbor currently works with seven community partners throughout the North of Howard neighborhood. Using…
VISTA Spotlight, Millikin University
My name is Angie Bravo I am the AmeriCorps VISTA at Millikin University. So far my experience as the VISTA has been AMAZING! I am so happy to be doing something important in the Decatur community, but also within Millikin University. With being a 2018 Millikin graduate I hold this university very close to my heart. It is exciting for me to come back and do something I never saw myself doing. As a student I never really understood what the AmeriCorps VISTA did. I knew that we had one every year, but I never found myself searching for the…
Global Leaders Summer Session
Next week the Global Leaders Program at Illinois Institute of Technology will be ending their summer session. The Global Leaders Program creates access and opportunity for Chicago-area high school students in STEM fields by offering four weeks of collaborative, project-based programming each summer, the implementation of a Community Innovation Project of their own design during their junior year, step-by-step college advising and guidance during their senior year and workshops, field trips, and career development opportunities. Each summer the program creates a theme and hold workshops around that theme, this summer the chosen theme was Design to Overcome. To help…
2017-2018 ILCC AmeriCorps VISTA Farewell
In the following months Illinois Campus Compact will be hiring a cohort of new AmeriCorps VISTAs, this means we will also be saying goodbye to some amazing VISTAs who are ending their year of service with us. During the past year our VISTAs served at higher education institutions throughout the state working to advance the public purpose of higher education. The VISTAs built capacity by leading programs with youth, coordinating volunteers, and developing community engagement initiatives on campus. Haley Dutmer is finishing her year of service at Western Illinois University- Quad Cities. Haley has a background in philosophy so is…
Illinois Tech Global Leaders Recognized as Gold Star Mentoring Program
By Megan Wadin Reflecting on 2017, the Illinois Tech Global Leaders Program (GLP) is celebrating a strong year of leadership development, academic enrichment and professional mentorship. GLP Scholars across the Chicago area were supported through the college application process, attended Job Shadow events, and served their communities through ‘Community Innovation Projects’. This month, the program has been recognized by MENTOR Illinois for its Community Innovation Project’s mentorship model. Community Innovation Project Team ‘United Innovators” held STEM education workshops for younger students across Chicago. The Gold Star Mentoring Program Award is part of MENTOR Illinois’ commitment to high quality mentoring. Following a…
University Entrepreneurship: An Exciting New Challenge for Civic Education
In October, University of Illinois, University of Chicago and Northwestern University announced their $1.2 billion research hub co-venture in Chicago’s South Loop. Governor Rauner and other local leaders say that the new facility will stop Illinois’ “brain-drain” to the coasts.
Refugee Resettlement Programs Deserve Support From Higher Education
I believe in the value of refugee resettlement programs, I believe in the value that campus can add to them, and I believe that higher education should take a strong stance against fear of the other.