I became involved with the CGO as a freshman, before the program formally existed. Over the next few years I acted as a facilitator, an organizer, a mentor, a friend — however I could strengthen the community we created and enrich our conversations. I tried to push our students to be simultaneously more proactive, reflective, and compassionate.

 

Being a part of the community had the same effect on me; I often found myself asking questions of the group not just to push them, but to help myself arrive at an answer as I navigated my own philosophies.

I now serve as an Americorps VISTA at Food Recovery Network in the DC Metro Area. I work one-on-one with college students across the country to support their food recovery programs, which take surplus food from campus dining halls and restaurants and donate it to local hunger fighting agencies.

My experience with the CGO has prompted me, specifically, to be more aware of the relationships between campuses and their surrounding communities. I appreciate that I get to help students break down those barriers through my current work. More broadly, I seek out the kinds of conversations and inquiries that I became accustomed to having every week with the CGO. When the space isn’t already there, I create it (last month I organized a discussion on how personal identity plays into service work for VISTAs in the Baltimore area).

As I consider where I see myself next year, I’m more oriented toward positions where I’ll be able to invest directly in my community. And, of course, once a Carnegie, always a Carnegie! Despite being described as a convocation-to-commencement program, I’m grateful to say it is far from over at graduation.

 

 

To learn more about the Americorps VISTA Program visit: http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/americorps-vista

To learn more about Mika Weinstein, visit:

http://www.globalethicsnetwork.org/profile/MikaWeinstein

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaweinstein