AmeriCorps VISTA

Trevor Chase, Community Engagement Coordinator

 

As the community engagement coordinator, I have a number of aspirations and goals for the Bridgewater campus, one of which is to have 30 percent of courses on campus contain a service-learning component. In order to achieve this, I am working to build formal partnerships between Bridgewater College and different organizations in the Bridgewater and Harrisonburg community. These partnerships will help link professors to organizations through valuable reciprocal relationships.

Service-learning is near and dear to my heart. As an undergraduate, I had several courses that contained service-learning components and even participated in service-learning while studying abroad in Kenya. I will never forget helping a determined group of people in the draught stricken region of the Machakoes build a sand dam to provide a sustainable water source for their community. From a service-learning perspective, I saw the value of communities working together to bring a project to their area, while learning about the issues that pertained to the region.

As a new member of the Bridgewater community, I am excited and looking forward to helping make a positive change on the campus!

Kenisha Commander, Community Development Coordinator

 

As the AmeriCorps VISTA community development coordinator for the Northeast Neighborhood Revitalization Project, my focus is capacity building for the nonprofit organizations that assist residents in the Northeast Neighborhood of Harrisonburg, Virginia. I have produced a needs assessment for each organization, and I am now able to target specific areas of need for each organization in effort to obtain the needed resources that will assist them in the effective delivery of services to their constituents. I recently received my bachelor's degree in social work from Mary Baldwin College, and I'm hoping to attend graduate school next fall.

 

With a degree in social work, I fully understand the importance of utilizing community resources. With great experience in programming, I am able to assist these nonprofits with community events and fundraisers that create community engagement. I am very outgoing and find joy in the smallest things, especially bringing a smile to those that surround me. Becoming a VISTA is one of my greatest achievements yet, because I am eager to assist larger communities with bringing about worldwide equality.

Arielle Martin, Community Relations Coordinator

 

I am the new AmeriCorps community relations coordinator at Bridgewater College. My goal is to create more cultural engagement programs on campus and within the Northeast Neighborhood of Harrisonburg. One of my tasks is to connect the Northeast Neighborhood and Bridgewater College with an event at the end of the year. I think cultural awareness and sensitivity is becoming increasingly important in our world, and it is important for students to challenge themselves by critically engaging with the diverse world around them.

 

I graduated from the University of Michigan in December 2011 with a bachelor's degree in cultural anthropology and a minor in medical anthropology. I have always been passionate about learning about different cultures and traveling. I hope to complete my master's in public health and social work and eventually work in the medical field to help create more culturally sensitive healthcare practices. I am very enthusiastic about meeting and working with the Bridgewater community. I hope I can apply my skills to assist these communities in the best way possible.

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