It is amazing what Ashton can accomplish in just 18 months! Before Ashton started, I had serious concerns about the VISTA program. The City had just taken over the sponsorship and at the same time AmeriCorps was going through a significant restructuring.  Because the sponsorship had changed, we had to recruit for all 11 full year VISTA positions and the 18 Summer Associate positions. The Summer Associate recruitment began about a week after Ashton started as the VISTA Leader and our recruitment period was only two weeks long. To make matters even more challenging, our local program didn’t have a website or dedicated social media presence yet. Within a few weeks of accepting the VISTA Leader position, Ashton created the AmeriCorps VISTA of Fairbanks website and social media pages, established our local VISTA office, and recruited for 14 of the 18 Summer Associate positions. After those first couple weeks, I no longer worried about our VISTA program.
 
Ashton continued to be impressive throughout her term and has many accomplishments, but to me the biggest impact I saw was from her leadership skills. Ashton led 35 VISTA Members during her time as the VISTA Leader. She was fiercely protective of the VISTAs and the VISTA program. She genuinely cared for the VISTAs and they respected her more for it. She served as a mentor and guided the VISTAs in their projects. She pushed them to achieve more than they thought possible for both their projects and themselves. Sometimes her influence was subtle, like passing along a resource or making a suggestion, but if the VISTA needed more direct guidance Ashton didn’t shy away from it. She taught every VISTA to advocate for themselves and their projects. Ashton helped many VISTAs conquer their fear of public speaking. I can’t even begin to count the number of times Ashton and the VISTAs were on the radio, TV or front page of the paper promoting VISTA projects.
 
Ashton is equally awesome away from work. She told me early in her term she wanted to continue to work with Non Profits, but that she wanted to live in Hawaii. This wasn’t just some dream to Ashton. She started making solid plans to accomplish her personal goal several months ago. She explored every avenue she thought that she might be interested in. At one point she was looking into forest ranger jobs as a next step. For one of the particular forest ranger jobs she looked into she had to be able to operate a four wheeler and be proficient with a handgun. At the time Ashton hadn’t had much experience with either, but she picked up both quickly. Within one afternoon she was comfortably riding four wheelers and a dirt bike on some hilly trails in the woods. Ashton quickly discovered she was a natural with a pistol. She is a safe and skilled shooter that truly enjoys the sport. It’s not important that she is a quick learner, although she is. What is important about Ashton is she is fearless, fair, motivated, and open minded. It has been a real privilege to get to know Ashton and I’m excited to see what her future holds.” 

- Mike Sanders, VISTA Program Director 

Zak wrapped up her service year on September 1, 2020. She ​served at Fairbanks North Star Borough Library as their Library Program Specialist. In her role, she created programs and resources for the community like the GED Scholarship and Library-Con for teenagers. In addition, she creatively reminded the community of the many programs already offered at the library and by other organizations they partnered with. You may remember her from her funny and literacy centered videos she created and launched on Facebook for your laughs and information. Zak will continue to live in Fairbanks for the next two years attending UAF and working as an amateur videographer. Her long term goal is to attend medical school and eventually live and work abroad.

From the moment Zak arrived, I could tell we were very lucky to have her here. Rarely do you meet someone with such imagination and creativity combined with skill. Using her talents to encourage literacy and library use she began a very successful run of highlighting library resources to members of our community. I have no doubt she made a difference in the lives of very many people. Zak fit right into our crew and became a member of the library family and will be missed. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors!"
​
- Melissa Harter, director of FNSB libraries

It has been my privilege to work with Brynn for the last year. She had obstacles to overcome and did overcome them. In telling her story, she told us that she would no longer let anyone write her story for her, she would write her own story. In many ways working with us in setting up a new program, she has not only charted her own way but helped us write the story of the Reentry Coalition in Fairbanks. Her authenticity and ability to share her life with us has made us more trauma-informed and sensitive to the re-entrants that we serve.

In October last year, we had the first Reentry Simulation with the US Department of Justice United States Attorney’s Office with the help of the Anchorage Reentry Coalition. Brynn was a participant in the first simulation. When we planned our second one with a UAF Social Work student, we found we would need our own materials. Brynn worked tirelessly to make the participant materials, phony money and help station materials used in creating the Reentry Simulation. In March, we held our second simulation at UAF with Justice and Social Work students. These materials are something that will be used over and over again in the days to come.
 
Our offices closed temporarily in March and life as we know it ended as a co-worker was exposed and possibly had COVID19. All groups, events and face-to-face halted due to COVID19 precautions. Our Reentry Coalition was presented with an emergency situation as the Warming Center was not able to serve all the homeless individuals coming for services. Brynn helped open a second Warming Center at the JP Jones Center with our Encampment Outreach program and staff from various IACNLV programs and volunteers from the community. Brynn was the friendly face at the door as we served over 126 different homeless individuals for two months. 
 
These are two unexpected highlights of the past year that Brynn was an integral part of making happen. She has been flexible, moved work stations at least 5 times, been challenged in ways that show her determined heart. All of us are better for the many ways she served and interacted with our staff and program participants. We are grateful for her year of service and look forward to her continuing to work with our agency."

- Linda Setterberg: Fairbanks Reentry Coalition Coordinator ​

​Leah wrapped up her service year on August 3, 2020. She served the Fairbanks Soil & Water Conservation District as their Project Development Specialist. She assisted in the development of project documents and resources that will help ensure the long term sustainability of the project, while also working with project partners to apply for various federal and non federal grants. With her spare time at the office, she worked with the Interior Alaska Food Network to develop and promote local food initiatives. After spending some time at home with family, Leah will head to Arizona State University​ to start a PhD program in Sustainability with a focus on resource economics.

Leah was an amazing addition to our team at FSWCD and the Fairbanks community.  We chose Leah for this position because of her impressive academic background in economics and community service. She seamlessly became part of FSWCD staff, the Fairbanks community, and the VISTA community.  Her dedication to the indoor community farm project began even before her first day of service and continued to be impressive in the successive months. As part of her service year, she assisted us with gathering the necessary support within the community by connecting with a wide variety of organizations. She was a part of a number of outreach events throughout her year in Fairbanks, helping with our information table at the Chena Hot Springs Energy Fair as well as a local food event at the Tanana Valley State Fair. She presented about her project to the local City Assembly, spoken briefly at the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce weekly meeting, and given information and updates at the city Housing and Homeless Coalition meetings. She assisted with the planning and leadership of our local Interior Alaska Food Network (IAFN), our local food policy group. Every chance she had to represent and share her work she jumped at without question. Her confidence and demeanor was excellent, and her representation of Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District was consistently impressive. She wrote at least two very large grant proposals during her time with FSWCD and her ability to collaborate with a large group of agencies and folks guided the process with ease. Her dedication to ensuring the positive outcome of her projects is evidence of her high standard of professionalism.  We are so happy she chose FSWCD for her VISTA service. We know she will go on to do great things with her career and will miss her smile and laughter terribly."

- Mel Sikes, FSWCD Natural Resource Education Specialist

Caitlin Amburgey , ​Children's Museum

In her own words: "This was my first time ever working from home, and I'm so glad it was through my VISTA assignment with the Fairbanks Children's Museum. I spent the summer creating new curriculum for children on special topics in History, Language Arts, Science and Diversity. While the museum was closed and I was working all the way from Nevada, I've never felt closer to the staff at FCM. They were welcoming, communicative and flexible with my unique circumstances. I hope to complete an in person VISTA assignment sometime soon!"

Taryn Williams, Children's Museum

In her own words: "The Fairbanks Children's Museum immediately felt like home for me; the staff was passionate and knowledgeable and embraced me as a member of the team from the first moment I arrived. I was able to implement curricula in a multitude of areas and, throughout the summer, I worked with approximately fifty children who were enthusiastic about the material and who taught me new things as well. Spending the last ten weeks here was incredibly fulfilling and it was an experience that I certainly won't forget."

Max Herz, Boys & Girls Club

In his own words: "I am so happy to have been part of such an amazing team at the Boys and Girls Club of Fairbanks. The work being done by BGC is so important for positive youth development and I am thankful that I got to be a small part of that mission. I will miss bonding and mentoring the kids on a daily basis and wish them luck in their future endeavors."

​Amyaa Edwards-Davis, ​Boys & Girls Club

Daisy Morotti, ​Bread Line

Where does the summer in Fairbanks go?
Our summer associates are finished already!
They have accomplished much in only 10 short weeks.

The Fairbanks community appreciates the difference you all have made!

Imani McGowan helped prevent child hunger by aiding JP Jones in their summer food program. She has supervised kids, provided meals and done outreach. VISTA service provided an outlook that she plans to apply to her career. In her own words: “Since I am becoming a doctor/surgeon with a minor in childhood education, I plan to go to countries that are less fortunate and help kids all over as well as in the U.S.”

Raina Follet served at the Boys and Girls Club of Fairbanks, aiming to maintain the previous school year’s education as well as build on that ground and stimulate the children in stem and motor skills on a daily basis. She enjoyed contributing to their art program as well.  ​ In her own words: “I have worked with a few kids on their language and mannerisms and kept a log of what I see when they're unaware of my observations and documented their success to pull up and share with them as a self esteem builder.”

Sheila Vent worked on social media/advertising for the Fairbanks Wellness Coalition. Her organization is small and personal which has led to successful campaigns. They had a booth at the Midnight Sun Festival and received around 200 surveys from attendees with 400 interactions. ​ In her own words: “I appreciate how VISTA is there to help out the community especially the areas of need to help a community regain control of certain issues it may be facing.”

David Leslie served the North Star Community Foundation by creating a presentation to teach nonprofits how to use social media effectively. He hit the ground running to make connections in town by meeting and networking with all the new summer VISTAs and members of the Fairbanks Housing and Homeless Coalition. He utilized those new connections and ideas to address not just his work as a VISTA for NSCF, but all service providers in Fairbanks. In his own words: “Multiple times while manning a booth for outreach, I would meet an older community member who was a VISTA years ago! VISTA has been a common way for people to learn, move to, and live in Alaska since the 60s. I had no idea it was so popular not just in Alaska, but also for many decades as a whole!”

Grace Martin aided the Noel Wien library with the Summer Reading Program. The library staff will be happy to hear the seed that they planted in Grace’s ear about library school may sprout someday. In her own words: “At the deployment fair, I was able to reach 252 soldiers and family members with information about the Fairbanks Noel Wien Library. Later that same day, we had multiple military families visiting the library for the first time because of the deployment fair connections. The librarians were all too busy to sit and table at the deployment fair so without the other VISTA Evan and I, they wouldn't have been able to do this outreach.“ ​ ​Her impact: “Grace has been an excellent VISTA volunteer at the Noel Wien Public Library this summer.  She is full of ideas, suggestions and enthusiasm for the projects she has been tasked to complete and has a great attitude for getting the work done.” - Michelle Proper, FNSB Libraries

​When Kim ran into challenges, she took initiative to find solutions. She also created a list of local doctor’s offices for the year-long VISTA to use as she pursues fundraising opportunities. ​ In her own words: “Because I am not a Thrivalaska employee, I'm not allowed to pick up the kids. The kids like to be held and ask me to pick them up. It feels awkward around parents when I can't help by picking up the kids. I take time to explain that I am a volunteer and can't do that task. To work around the challenge while in the classroom, I sit on the floor and the kids are allowed to sit in my lap.”

When the site was closed to students, Amber and the other staffed cleaned the building top to bottom. She even vacuumed the window screens outside. Having a clean interior and exterior keeps kids healthy, parents confident in their childcare and ThrivAlaska running smoothly. In her own words: “The support of the teachers is extremely important. That's the biggest thing that comes to mind. I've seen all summer that they really have their hands full. Most of these kids come from low income families, single parent households, and Thrivalaska wants to give these kids the best chance to succeed.”

Devon Gerstenfield maintained several community gardens on behalf of Fairbanks Soil & Water Conservation District. Locations included JP Jones, Stone Soup Community Garden, Zion Community Garden and Corinthians Garden. ​​ In his own words: “I helped several buses full of high school kids from the lower 48 plant trees by the Chena River. The basic idea was that by driving sticks into the ground and planting trees nearby, we could keep the river from weathering away at the ground that the nearby houses sat on. If I had to guess, I'd say we planted somewhere on the order of 150 trees. On the eighth, I helped set up the Stone Soup Community Garden. There were about 40 odd plant containers that needed to be weeded and their soil turned over and prepared for the plants. Fortunately, I wasn't alone. We had dozens of community members helping us get everything completed. After four hours, we had enough lettuce, potatoes and peas planted to feed an army.”

Lisa Cogen serves at The Door youth shelter. She is a Jack of all trades, meeting any of The Door’s needs. Even after her VISTA tasks are done, her work ethic finds new tasks without fail. The organization loves her and doesn’t want her to go. In her own words: “When someone expressed surprise that FYA had gotten a summer VISTA (even though it had looked unlikely), they asked the Executive Director where I had come from, and her response was that I was "sent from heaven!" FYA is going through a lot of staff transition at this time, and my presence has made it easier for staff all around, as I am another person able to help provide continuity of care for the youth. At the same time, since I don't have to do much of the paperwork and documentation, I am also able to do things like sort and rotate the food donations, organize the game shelves, and do things that the regular staff just can't ever seem to get to.” Her impact: “Our VISTA, Lisa, is an incredible addition to our team. She is insightful, motivated and doesn't hesitate when she sees something needing to be done. Our Summer Associate helps to fill in the gaps in the youth shelter. Thanks to Lisa, we attended our first Pride Festival, been able to meet with volunteer groups on the weekends, and managed to deal with changes in the shelter - without any service delays to youth. We love her and don't want to see her time end.” - Marylee Bates, The Door

Emily Markkanen supervised and taught job skills to teens with disabilities with Access Alaska. With the program, they handle specific jobs at a local farm and a recycling facility. Emily mentors the kids, keeping them on track, training in real time when they get stumped and resolving conflict as necessary. ​ In her own words: “During the course of the month, we set up a lesson about how to run a mock assembly meeting. To help with this first we set up a day at the Central recycling center and Green Star recycling to learn about our recycling goal we have in Fairbanks. Then we have a mock assembly meeting to show how the meeting is ran.”

Evan Thomas aided the North Pole library with the children’s Summer Reading Program. He registers children, stamps their accomplishments and provides them with prizes. He has also had the opportunity to create marketing materials for several library events. ​ In his own words: “I enjoy the ability to participate in the kid's programs such as rock painting and slime, many of my co workers say they appreciate a male being in this setting, which is a nice reassurance, It feels great to be able to help with that stuff. I'm trying to get a "Little Library" started but I'm having a difficult time getting it off the ground as i am not quite sure on how to go about it. I'll continue research though and hopefully something will come of it very soon!"

If you are interested in serving as a summer VISTA in 2020 or
​if your organization is interested in hosting a summer VISTA in 2020, contact the VISTA team leader at vistaleader@fairbanks.us.