Liza Carroll, AmeriCorps VISTA Member
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I grew up in Miami, Florida, and have three older siblings, who all currently live in the Northeast. I lived in Providence, Rhode Island for four years while I attended Brown University, where I studied religious studies and Portuguese. I moved to New York to start working at the Feerick Center. I enjoy riding my bike, doing anything free in New York City, and attending music shows in Brooklyn.
What inspired you to become involved in service work? What brought you to the Feerick Center?
When I graduated, my main goal was to find a job that would not have an evil or negative impact on the world. I started looking at AmeriCorps opportunities and I pursued applying to the Feerick Center due to my interest in education. I also thought it would be fun to live in New York City and the Feerick Center seemed like a good environment for a first job.
What was/were your major project(s) and what did you accomplish?
My main project was to recruit and train volunteers to work with low-income middle school students who were going to be applying to NYC public high schools. I maintained and developed new partnerships with community organizations that run afterschool programs and placed volunteers there to work with students on the high school application process. I convened the High School Application Advisory Committee (a group created by the Feerick Center), which met bi-monthly to talk about issues on the ground. I also worked on a report on LEEAP that will cover what we have done in the last three years, how granular work fits into the bigger picture, and how the current admissions process might be improved to serve all students well.
What was most rewarding about your experience in the Feerick Center?
Meeting people who worked at the community-based organizations with which the Center partners. It has been nice to get to know different people working all over New York City and learning about what type of work they are doing.
What are your future plans? How did the Feerick Center lead you to this?
My future plan is to hopefully do something more direct-service related. I have
learned a lot at the Feerick Center about working with and managing people, which has led me to want to work with people on a first hand basis.
Matthew English, AmeriCorps VISTA Member
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I was born in Evanston, Illinois, and attended DePaul University in Chicago. I majored in psychology with a concentration in cognitive developmental neuropsychology, and also minored in Spanish. I worked all four years in the LGBTQ Studies Office, VIDA/SIDA, and Chicago House, which is an HIV not-for-profit. I have done yoga for the past six years, and I like soccer and swimming. I currently live in the Bronx.
What inspired you to become involved in service work? What brought you to the Feerick Center?
DePaul University is a Vincentian and Catholic school so it is big in giving back to the community. After coming back from Madrid, Spain, I really wanted to continue speaking Spanish so I got an internship at Vida/SIDA, which works to address HIV/AIDS. My internship led me to being hired there.
What was/were your major project(s) and what did you accomplish?
I placed a lot of volunteers for the Attorney Emeritus Program (AEP). The Legal Service Corporation gave a new grant to Legal Assistance of Western New York, and they collaborate with other organizations to expand the AEP. I have written two articles about outstanding volunteers, one of which received the New York State Bar Association President’s Pro Bono Senior Award.
What was most rewarding about your experience in the Feerick Center?
I really enjoyed writing the articles on AEP volunteers.
Kyle Giller, AmeriCorps VISTA Member
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and attended public schools in New York City my whole life. I studied at SUNY Binghamton for a year before I transferred to Reed College in Portland, Oregon, to study Spanish literature and political philosophy. I enjoy playing the guitar, writing and acting in plays, and I love bike riding. I am also in a few bands.
What inspired you to become involved in service work? What brought you to the Feerick Center?
I have always been interested in service work ever since I started working at 14 or 15. I had teachers that helped influence me, and I always thought that this was the kind of work I was going to go into. When I lived in Portland I started teaching English at a worker’s rights center for Mexican day laborers. Through that I started working for an attorney at a not-for-profit workers’ justice law center. That was how I started to home in on the issue that I am now interested in. I then began to work for labor unions both in New York and Portland.
I lived in Peru for six months working at a microfinance not-for-profit, and when I came back to New York I was interested in working for a legal service organization right away. Unfortunately, I did not have the experience, which made it difficult to get a job. Working as a VISTA Fellow at the Feerick Center was an excellent opportunity to network and experience being at a law school.
What was/were your major project(s) and what did you accomplish?
I came in with a focus on the financial justice projects that the Feerick Center was working on, and I still do that extensively. However, my real focus was Bronx CLARO. It requires a lot of maintenance and support. I have been recruiting and placing volunteers there, as well as working at the Manhattan and Staten Island CLAROs. The main thing is managing and recruiting so I have held information sessions and coordinated with our partners. One thing that we have expanded on is the relationship with the Community Service Society and their Financial Coaching Center. I have placed two volunteers with them and they have really enjoyed it.
What was most rewarding about your experience in the Feerick Center?
The most rewarding part has been placing volunteers and watching them grow into a program.
What are your future plans? How did the Feerick Center lead you to this?
The Feerick Center is definitely shaping how I am moving forward. My plan is to do more advocacy work in the legal service field in New York and then go on to law school after about a year. Then I would like to keep working with low-income New Yorkers to protect their rights. The Center is made up of students, faculty, professionals, and advocates who are some really amazing people. With a lot of hard work I would love to be working here again.
Chelsea Wilson, New York Civic Corps Member
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am a Brooklyn born native. I went to Brooklyn College where I studied political science and children youth studies. I like to read, watch TV, shop, and hang out with friends and family.
What inspired you to become involved in service work? What brought you to the Feerick Center?
It started at the end of middle school during my 8th grade year. I volunteered as a book buddy at the Brooklyn College Library. I also coordinated a literacy program for children through Toys for Tots and Reading Fundamentals. I continued this type of work in high school. During college I interned at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office where I helped clients with GED classes, reading, and social studies. I have a passion for serving because I was taught to give back to the community since my community gave me opportunities to succeed.
What brought me to the Feerick Center was after graduating college, I had an internship that was ending at the New York State Office of Children and Family Services and I was looking for something meaningful where I could continue to contribute. I found New York City Civic Corps and this was the gateway to continue service. I applied and was accepted. My placement was at the Feerick Center. I did not know what this was going to entail but I knew I wanted to eventually work in a social justice center.
Being in service has enabled me to learn more about myself, having more self-awareness and the impact I am having not only on communities but also on the people these communities serve.
What was/were your major project(s) and what did you accomplish?
I worked on the Attorney Emeritus Program (AEP). I recruited and helped place senior volunteers at legal service programs to help low-income New Yorkers. I helped set up four information sessions for potential AEP attorneys and helped prepare for the AEP Advisory Council meetings where we would present on our work.
What was most rewarding about your experience in the Feerick Center?
Knowing I was able to be a vehicle to help low-income New Yorkers. It was rewarding to see a volunteer happily placed and continuing their service.
What are your future plans? How did the Feerick Center lead you to this?
I am attending graduate school at the New School Milano School for Public Engagement with a major in Urban Policy Analysis and Management. In the future, I hope to run my own nonprofit organization and to continue service work.