DEEP Service Magazine Spring/Summer 2014 | Page 22

POSTGRADUATENEWS

Siena VISTA Welcomes 2014-2015 VISTA Leaders
By Lamara J. Burgess, Coordinator of ACE

An AmeriCorps* VISTA Leader is a second
year VISTA who has successfully completed
a year of service with our program and is
now serving as a coach and mentor to the
team. In March, we held interviews and
recruited two outstanding VISTA Leaders to serve in our
July 2014-2015 cohort. Jimmy Bulmer and Morgan
Schrankel will lead our team of VISTA Fellows for the
duration of their service term.

Her responsibilities include maintaining and evaluating the
service-learning database, creating service-learning
opportunities for students, and overseeing the AmeriCorps
program. During her service term, Morgan was able to help
65 seniors complete their graduation requirement of 100
community service hours. There has been a 68% increase in
the number of seniors who have met requirements to
graduate on time. Morgan also assisted with pioneering a
new database system to expedite tracking community
service hours, leading to the
sustainability of the Service
“An AmeriCorps* VISTA Leader is a
Learning Program.

Jimmy Bulmer has served two years
with our program. His first year of
service was completed at the
second year VISTA who has
Brighter Choice Foundation where
To prepare for their new roles,
successfully completed a year of
he created a system to collect social
VISTA Leaders will attend 4 weeks
service with our program and is
and demographic data on current
of orientation held throughout
now serving as a coach and mentor July. A few topics that will be
high school students and alumni to
measure the impact it had on their
covered include: Handling
to the team.”
academic success. He then signed
Difficult Conversations, What Do
on for a second year of service and
You Look for in a Leader, and team
joined the Office of Academic Community Engagement to
building exercises. They will also attend a national VISTA
coordinate community partnerships and streamline
Leader Orientation in September. Our leaders will start
communication efforts. During his term of service, Jimmy
their service term on July 27, 2014.
pioneered our first newsletter for community partners,
helped organize and conduct the ACE Site Supervisor
The Office of Academic Community Engagement is excited
Orientation, and improved the sustainability of our DEEP
to welcome Jimmy and Morgan to the ACE team. With
Partnersh