Did you know the Center for Work and Service has an AmeriCorps VISTA representative this year working as part of the CWS Service Team? Let’s get to know Sierra Raimondi a little better.
My name is Sierra and I am the Massachusetts’s Campus Compact (MACC) AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteer in Service to America) for Wellesley College this year. This is the first time in several years that the CWS has hosted someone. I’m excited to share what my role at the CWS is and how VISTA has impacted my own career goals.
To help break down my position, I should first explain a little more about what makes the VISTA branch of AmeriCorps unique. As opposed to other AmeriCorps programs, VISTA primarily focuses on indirect service where the VISTA (that’s me) helps build a program’s capacity and overall sustainability. For example, rather than actually tutoring a student at an afterschool program, the VISTA would be developing a more efficient way to coordinate all of the tutors volunteering at that location. Campus Compact uses the same indirect service format while also incorporating the university campus. The Campus Compact program focuses on strengthening the campus-community partnerships through mutually beneficial service and outreach. Over the coming year, I will be splitting my time between Wellesley’s Center for Work and Service and two of the school’s community partners – Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center Red Oak program and St. Stephen’s Youth Program.
The biggest thing I can suggest if you are interested in the AmeriCorps VISTA and/or Campus Compact program is to do your research – talk to people who are in or have completed the program, read blogs, attend information sessions and events, etc. As a brand new VISTA myself, the year ahead is still a bit of a mystery, but I am excited to see how it evolves. Please stop by Green Hall, room 448 to talk with me more about my year of service and the MACC AmeriCorps VISTA program.
For me, MACC was the perfect fit with its model for engaging both the university and community. The skill set I’m building could easily translate into a career in non-profit management or higher education. Graduate school will be in my near future, but in the meantime, I plan to turn every experience into a learning opportunity that will help to inform my future career path.
Thinking that a year or service, or other national service opportunities is something you could see yourself participating in post-Wellesley? You’re in luck! The CWS is hosting its first Year of Service: An Alumnae Panel on October 24, 2013, from 6:30 – 8:00 PM in PNE 239. Please remember to register on MyCWS. We’ve invited back Wellesley alumnae and other service alums to speak about their various AmeriCorps experiences. We look forward to seeing you then!
For more information on the AmeriCorps VISTA Program go to: http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/americorps-vista
For more information on Campus Compact: http://www.compact.org/