Christine Charron
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VISTA Accomplishments: The best part of my VISTA service was getting to work with fellow VISTAs and VISTA alums on various projects. This includes working with my supervisor (a former VISTA) to build a successful employment program for youth with disabilities; working with Lauren Eck to re-imagine and organize the Halloween Trick or Treat Town event; and working with Scott Wiser to establish fun outreach ideas for FHHC. The collaborative spirit of the Fairbanks VISTA program is my overarching favorite memory!
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Life After VISTA Service: I am wrapping up a second VISTA term working in Colorado with the Community Opioid Response Program. I will soon begin work as the Syringe Access Program Coordinator with my host site, Southern Colorado Health Network, to continue expanding public health resources related to injection drug use, overdose prevention, and sexual health education in communities in southeastern Colorado. VISTA prepared me for this position by giving me the confidence, tools, and experience to wear many hats in my job and to say yes to projects that are entirely new to me.
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Advice for VISTAs: My advice to any VISTA is to get as involved in the community as you can. I always say that being a VISTA gives you the opportunity to be in rooms you may not otherwise be in. By virtue of being a VISTA member, you are often able to gain access to people and opportunities that would take much more experience to reach so run with as many ideas as you can and get as connected as possible!
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Lauren Eck
2017-2018 Fairbanks North Star Borough
Parks and Recreation Department
Life After VISTA Service: When my VISTA service ended in early 2018, I took a job as a Recreation Program Coordinator with the same entity I completed my service with. I was fortunate enough that my supervisor pushed to create a new position for me in the borough. VISTA allowed me to gain applicable job experience in my field and create community connections that to this day still help me succeed at my job. In addition, my work as a VISTA helped me hone my skills and realize the field I want a career in.
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Advice for VISTAs: If I were to give one piece of advice to a potential VISTA, it would be: stick with it and keep an open mind. VISTA service is challenging with many trying times, but if you keep a good spirit and remember the positive impact your service has, the many times of triumph make it worth it. It all pays off in the end, both for you and the community you are serving in, even if you do not see it right away.
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Scott Wiser
2017-2018 Fairbanks Housing and Homeless Coalition
2012-2014 Anchorage Catholic Social Services VISTA
VISTA Accomplishments: My time with VISTA was very rewarding and really helped to build my confidence. Co-coordinating the first Fairbanks Symposium on Homelessness with Michael Sanders was probably the biggest accomplishment. I headed up a subcommittee to research content and together, Mike and I ensured funding, promoted, and hosted the event. The event was very well received and helped to create coordinated, collaborative projects between organizations serving individuals who experience homelessness. It was a day where the Fairbanks community really came together and I was happy to be a part of it.
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Life After VISTA Service: Currently, I am just starting a position on a contact tracing team in Anchorage. However, immediately after my last VISTA year, I worked for two years as a speech-language pathologist assistant in Fairbanks. This was my field of undergraduate study and I’m in the process of applying to graduate schools to be a speech-language pathologist. When I was working for the speech pathology clinic, I helped them receive an Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority grant to retrofit the office to complete tele-therapy. I wouldn't have been able to do that without the knowledge of community and the skillsets gained from my VISTA service years. VISTA gave me a whole other career and provided me important insights into my own career interests. I hadn't realized that I would love working on community projects as much as I do. I found a real passion for collaborative community projects and it informed my career path for the future.
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