Thank You 2021 Summer Associates!

8/12/2021

We are so grateful for the energy, creativity, and hard work from our Summer Associates! They each made a positive impact at their organization and will be greatly missed.

Thank you Abby, Liz, Emmy, Michele, Kelli, Smitty, Grace, Nick, and Tajhrel for your service this summer!

Abby Stanworth- Children's Museum

This summer I was very fortunate to spend ten weeks at the Fairbanks Children’s Museum. While serving at the museum I was able to help with their summer camp programs and their playtimes. I felt fortunate to work at such a loving environment for children after the year they’ve had with covid. I took a lot of pride in making sure their summer play was safe and that they learned along the way. Children always remind me, no matter how much you teach them they’ll always teach you more. Thanks Fairbanks!

Elizabeth Meade- Children's Museum

I am so glad that I got to spend my summer at the Fairbanks Children's Museum! I split my time between the museum floor, where I helped maintain the space and facilitate play, and the camp room. In camp, I taught science and travel camps and got to assist in many more. I loved watching the kids learn and grow over the course of the summer. I also developed a kit for sensory-friendly museum play, and I am excited to see how this is implemented in the museum's future. I am so grateful to FCM and VISTA for the opportunity to live and work in Alaska this summer, and I am excited to see where I take my new skills from here!

Elizabeth and Abigail joined FCM this Summer as our second round of Summer Associates, but the first-ever round of Summer Associates while the Museum has been open to the public. As the Museum has focused on recovery from a year-long closure, welcoming families back into our space, launching summer camps to coexist with all of the above, and preparing for fall programming, our VISTAs have been patient, stellar, dynamic. One moment leading campers through an exciting experiment, the next sanitizing a bucket of licked toys, the next addressing camper behavior, the next setting up the Museum in a local park to reach a wider audience--Elizabeth and Abigail have seen it all and they've been rockstars every step of the way. Their candid feedback will set up next summer's VISTAs for even more success. We couldn't be more grateful for their time spent here in the Far North this summer."

-- Meredith Maple-Gitter, Children's Museum Executive Director

Emerson Judd- Fairbanks Soil & Water Conservation District

It was such a gift to spend this summer growing food in community gardens and educating people about how important an understanding of the natural world is to creating nourished and equitable communities. Learning about and participating in the complex workings of the Alaskan food system was an incredibly fulfilling experience that has left me with so many insights into new frontiers and possibilities for sustainability, urban planning, food security, and more. I'm so grateful for the FSWCD team for welcoming me into the Fairbanks community so warmly and introducing me to so many new ideas and avenues of discovery that I'll certainly be taking with me into my future plans and goals.

Emmy has been such a rock star in our office. The gardens she helped to organize and plant and tended throughout her time here are flourishing under her diligent care. Her willingness to learn new skills and research new info to help craft the structure of the Fairbanks Community Garden Network has been phenomenal. Working with Tessa, they put on amazing and helpful workshops at the community gardens and at a number of outreach events throughout town. We are so lucky that she chose us as her site and we definitely will miss her. She will be an asset wherever she chooses to work in the future."

-- Mel Sikes, Fairbanks Soil & Water Conservation District Natural Resource Education Specialist

Michele Laarman- The Bridge

I spent the summer working with one of the Fairbanks Reentry Coalition's member organizations, The Bridge. My role was to help clients experiencing homelessness apply for a grant to cover the first month's rent and security deposit for an apartment. In addition to learning about the resources of Fairbanks, I saw the effectiveness of the peer support model in action. My term led me to visit the Fairbanks Recovery Residence, attend meetings at City Hall, talk with lawyers, serve breakfast at Stone Soup Cafe, tour the Fairbanks Rescue Mission, and meet with landlords. I even sent my first ever fax. I'm grateful to the whole team at The Bridge for taking me under their wing, and I look forward to continuing in this line of work.

I would like to send a huge Thank you to Michele for her wonderful and patient heart. She will surely be missed here at The Bridge and always had knack for how to help our clients in the most acceptable and best way possible! She is a knowledge keeper and was always learning what we taught her and teaching us what we didn’t know! The time here at The Bridge, Michele helped multiple individuals see the light at the end of the road. Great job Michele and we wish you the best in your future endeavors!"

-- Erika Lensegrev, The Bridge Encampment Case Manager

Kelli Ignat- Thrivalaska

Working at ThrivAlaska this summer has been one of the best experiences of my life. I always knew that I wanted to be involved in the education system, but this summer has truly shown me that this is where I am supposed to be. The majority of my service was direct service in the classroom. While in the classroom I provided care to the students, helped with classroom management, and promoted positive and healthy relationships. My favorite thing from this summer was singing and dancing with the kiddos during circle time. I am super appreciative towards all of the teachers, administrative staff, and students at ThrivAlaska for teaching me so many valuable lessons to use in my future career.

It has been really great working with Kelli. She has a calm, friendly, go getter personality that makes her great to work with. She does fantastic with all the children she works with. She has been observing other teaching staff that work with children to learn different techniques to use with the children that might be a little more challenging. She would have a great career in child development if that is something she would like to pursue.

--Fawn Charles, Thrivalaska Family Services Coordinator

Kelli has been an absolute joy to have in our program! She loves to mow grass so when we don’t have children on Fridays, she was mowing the playgrounds. Kelli has been a wonderful addition to the classrooms! She works very well with all ages of children and the staff have appreciated her support!

-- Sarah Newton, Thrivalaska Head Start Birth to Five Director

Smitty McGowan- The Bread Line

My time at the Bread Line was transformative in more ways than I can describe. While my principal focus was on assisting with the Stone Soup Community Garden, my involvement manifested itself in a variety of ways due to the interconnected nature of the organization. Whether I was helping our guests at morning service or weeding the beds in the garden, I always felt blessed to be a small piece to the loving puzzle at 507 Gaffney Road. The Bread Line is a uniquely wonderful and holy place, a true example of what caring for others really looks like.

Smitty has been an absolute joy to have at the Bread Line. His good work in the garden is self-evident as our little green space is thriving like never before. Smitty fit right in at our organization & stepped up to also help serve during the morning meal service at the soup kitchen. Between that & the garden, Smitty deepened the Bread Line's relationship with the people we serve & helped more people connect to more services in the community. Smitty's enthusiasm, kindness, humor, dedication & fantastic attitude will be sorely missed here, but we are excited for his new adventures & to know that he'll always be doing good work out there in the wide, wide world."

-- Hannah Hill, The Bread Line Executive Director

Grace Doolittle- Boys & Girls Club

At the boys and girls club I was able to learn alongside a team committed to empowering and supporting Fairbanks youth, while utilizing restorative justice principles. We helped implement intentional programming to engage kids every hour of the day and prevent summer learning loss. It has been busy, exciting and different every day this summer at the boys and girls club!

Nick Hausler- Boys and Girls Club

During this awesome summer, I learned so many things about the Fairbanks community that I was ecstatic to learn about! Working at the Boys and Girls Club was an amazing experience that I will always remember! It was a pleasure to keep the kids on their toes and see them grow with our Summer Brain Gain activities, including Healthy Habits, STEM, and Computer Lab. During these activities, the kids learned how to stay healthy mentally and physically when talking about food during Healthy Habits, learned about the different pieces of a computer and building the computer during our STEM sessions, and learned about math and different grade-level based questions during our time in the Computer Lab. It was a blast to watch the kids grow and become more excited about learning with me!

Tahjrel Prescott- Boys and Girls Club

At the Boys & Girls Club my time with the kids was valued by the kids. I enjoyed the programs and activities I facilitated with the kids. Cooking Club was my favorite program to run. I will miss working with the great staff at the Boys & Girls Club.

Thank you to Grace, Nick, and Tajhrel! Summer at the Boys & Girls Club has been busy and FUN thanks to our three VISTA Summer Associates. The extra staff helps ensure that we have full coverage for a ten hour day full of programs and field trips. Grace has introduced our youth to a new game Mission Impossible which they love. We look forward to having Grace on our school year team and teaching the youth how to sew. Nick and the kids spent the summer learning about computers and how they work. Thanks for bringing this skillset to our team! Tajhrel brought the energy to the gym games and created homemade pizzas with the youth. The kids really enjoyed seeing Tajhrel transition from a Teen Member to a Staff Member this summer. Thank you all for your service!"

-- Amy Cross, Boys & Girls Club Executive Director

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