HPU Supports 9 AmeriCorp VISTAs in Serving the Town

High Position, N.C., Aug. 16, 2021 – Higher Place University is welcoming 9 of its modern graduates as AmeriCorps VISTAs, who will devote a year of assistance to the metropolis of High Position. For the ninth calendar year, Significant Level College is internet hosting these AmeriCorps VISTAs (Volunteers in Assistance to The united states) to present thousands of hrs of provider to neighborhood businesses.

Just about every VISTA is effective with a nonprofit in the town to develop sustainable packages in possibly food items insecurity or training. HPU invests nearly $200,000 on a yearly basis to provide housing, foods, office environment space and obtain to student volunteers to carry out initiatives with their lover businesses. The Greater High Point Foods Alliance, Resilience HP, Rising HP, Metropolis of High Point Community and Local community Enhancement Division, and the Significant Position Schools Partnership are a couple of of the teams with which the VISTAs will function.

Reverend Dr. Joe Blosser has led the HPU VISTAs considering the fact that HPU began serving as a host web-site. He’s also the director of Provider Finding out at HPU and associate professor of faith and philosophy.

“I appreciate the chance to mentor and tutorial latest HPU graduates as they commit a 12 months of their life to giving back again to this community that has supported them through school,” states Blosser. “One of my preferred things is seeing these previous learners drop in appreciate with the city of Substantial Place via their service and then come to a decision to make it their house as they graduate and commence their expert careers.”

This year’s VISTAs, all HPU graduates, are:

Rachel Prandoni, from Charlotte, graduated from HPU this 12 months with a bachelor’s diploma in political science and training experiments. She is also completing her M.Ed. in Instructional Leadership at HPU as well.

Prandoni says she’s motivated by issues of fairness and social justice with a passion for coverage and advocacy get the job done. In the following yr, she’ll be doing work with the Hayden-Harman Foundation on a lot of assignments to assist carry out their mission of transforming under-resourced neighborhoods in the Significant Issue local community.

Prandoni’s dedication to coverage and advocacy function was cultivated in her undergraduate many years by doing work with and researching underneath her mentor, Dr. Allie Blosser, software coordinator of training research, who Prandoni interned for all through her senior year. The two worked to charter a chapter of the College student North Carolina Affiliation of Educators at HPU.

“I am so grateful to have the possibility to give back again to a neighborhood that has specified so substantially to me around the past four several years,” says Prandoni. “Poverty and inequity permeate our culture, and we must try to relieve its insidious outcomes and manifestations. The AmeriCorps VISTA plan is designed to do precisely that, which tends to make it a true honor to serve for this kind of an group. My principal purpose is to make certain that the citizens of Substantial Position have the obtain to the means they will need to stay, study and prosper.”

Gabrielle Bryce arrived to HPU from Texas. She graduated from HPU in Could with a degree in graphic style. While she attended HPU, she worked as a campus photographer documenting and capturing community assistance applications and projects that HPU pupils participated in. She experienced the prospect to see how substantially of an effects they have been producing on the group on a own amount and knew she needed to be a component of that.

She is enthusiastic to be making use of her working experience in visual conversation to profit the group even though gaining more profession encounter.

“In my future profession, I want to function on the style and design aspect of nonprofits,” suggests Bryce. “I’m excited to do the job as a VISTA and get the prospect to be related to a community. I’m enthusiastic to use my adore for art and style and design to assist boost the neighborhood.”

Chloe Contreras is initially from San Diego, California. She graduated in May perhaps from HPU with a double significant in intercontinental relations and political science with a minor in record.

She’ll be doing work with YWCA and is wanting ahead to advertising and marketing increased schooling chances to neighborhood students. She’s also fired up to devote additional time with the High Point community by support.

“As an HPU VISTA I will be serving in the community that has been my home in the course of my a long time as an undergraduate pupil,” claims Contreras. “I am looking ahead to marketing the educational prospects and existence techniques that the Large Issue local community presents.”

Gabby Kozlowski graduated from HPU with a B.S. in psychology and a triple minor in civic obligation & social innovation, women’s & gender reports and nonprofit leadership and management.

In her four many years at HPU, she served as a Bonner Chief and turned quite familiar with the Macedonia community when serving at the Macedonia Spouse and children Useful resource Heart.

As a VISTA, she’ll be serving at the metropolis of Significant Point’s Community and Community Progress Division looking to improve the quality of food items programs in High Place.

“My four years as a Bonner Chief afforded me the chance to become familiar with the nonprofit sector,” suggests Kozlowski. “I’m energized about serving as a VISTA since I will be uncovered to the governing administration aspect of plan and support. I’m ecstatic to be exposed to the types of selections that are manufactured that have an effect on nonprofits, and I’m enthusiastic to increase my network and increase my conversation competencies though immersing myself as entirely as possible into the Superior Position neighborhood.”

Heather Simmons is originally from Massachusetts. She graduated magna cum laude from HPU in Might with a diploma in elementary education and a small in special education. Simmons is continuing her research at HPU to pursue a master’s degree in education and learning with a literacy focus.

As an HPU pupil, Simmons was associated in the Phi Mu sorority, serving as philanthropy chair Academics of Tomorrow, serving as president and 1,000 Miles for Kids, serving as director of fundraising. She was also an lively member of the Civitan Club, Higher education Democrats and Council for Exceptional Youngsters. Simmons was a member of both of those honor societies Alpha Lamda Delta and Kappa Delta Pi, and she labored for Campus Recreation as a group exercise instructor.

Now, as an AmeriCorps VISTA, she will be serving as a Faculty and Neighborhood Partnership Coordinator.

“While studying to be a instructor and functioning in the local community, you find out a great deal about how to use a groups’ energy to prosper,” Simmons claims. “I hope I can use all of the lessons I have acquired in my earlier management encounters to assistance a neighborhood that presents so a great deal to its learners and lecturers.”

Chloe Lewis has explored several sections of the U.S. acquiring lived in four diverse states. But she states that Substantial Place, North Carolina feels like household to her.

She graduated from HPU in Could with a degree in business administration and a small in finance. She fell in adore with serving to the neighborhood group as a result of her time in the Circle K Club, as nicely as volunteering with the VITA tax plan during college.

Now, she will be operating with Increasing High Stage to aid fight foods insecurity and poverty in the bordering area.

“During my university several years, I ultimately felt like I realized what I required to do with my everyday living when I volunteered and noticed what a variation a handful of pounds could make in people’s life,” says Lewis. “Any extra income they received from their tax return could be the distinction among putting foodstuff on the table. I’m thrilled to support build local community gardens and see the alter wholesome food items and spare cash flow can make in Large Level.”

Natalie Lucas is a 2020 graduate with a bachelor’s degree in graphic structure. Though she was at HPU, she labored at the Community Crafting Centre as a component of the Bonner Leader System for 4 a long time. She’s also a freelance designer.

Lucas suggests what produced her want to return as a VISTA was the optimistic affect of her four decades as a Bonner Chief at HPU and all the local community opportunities they were equipped to engage in.

“High Point is my household,” states Lucas. “The local community in which I, as a VISTA, will provide this year is crammed with my neighbors, buddies, family members, and individuals who could have impacted me in some way during my daily life. I’m seriously enthusiastic to be back again and concerned with the Bonner Plan and the Community Composing Center after a year like 2020.”

Douglas Mathis came to HPU from San Antonio, Texas. He graduated in Could with a degree in political science and minors in philosophy and religion.

As a student at HPU, he served in a number of leadership roles in College student Authorities Affiliation, College or university Democrats, Student Justice Software and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.

In the course of his time living in Higher Stage, he designed a connection to the city’s youth via community company in the diverse companies he was a component of. Now he is excited to be serving AmeriCorp’s VISTA method by performing along with the Community in Schools of High Level.

“Being able to do the job with leaders with the intention of strengthening the Higher Issue community and remaining a compelling mentor to the city’s youth has been a acquiring aspiration considering that my time at HPU,” claims Mathis. “I am energized to carry on to find out from the community and to mature at both of those the specialist and private degrees.”

Casey Tyndall is from Mint Hill, North Carolina and graduated from HPU in 2019 with a diploma in occasion management.

She served as an HPU AmeriCorps VISTA with the Higher Higher Level Meals Alliance for the duration of the 2020-2021 company term, when she had the possibility to do the job on multiple projects in the Higher Stage local community. She is enthusiastic to be serving another calendar year as the HPU AmeriCorps VISTA Leader. In her job, she’ll mentor and mentor the 8 VISTAs in a range of means, such as web hosting workshops and guide clubs to assistance them recognize more about the places the place they are doing work.

“My time as an HPU AmeriCorps VISTA helped acquire my expert competencies in more methods than I could have imagined,” says Tyndall. “It has been gratifying to provide in the community, and I am fortunate to be in a position to provide one more calendar year as the HPU AmeriCorps VISTA Chief.”