Becoming a VISTA: How did I get here?

I’ve found that as you look toward the future, it is often beneficial to look back and remember where you came from. The following post will expand on what brought me to VISTA and Shared Harvest.

I discovered my life’s work about midway through my tenure at Miami University after taking an Introduction to Disability Studies course with Dr. Kathy McMahon-Klosterman. It was my first exposure to social justice and I eagerly jumped into the field. Working with my [now] fiancé Taylor, we brought wheelchair accessible seating to the school’s ice arena, created a fully accessible campus tour route, served as teaching assistants, presented on ally behavior at conferences, and participated as the only undergraduate representatives on the President’s committee on campus accessibility. It was tough, exhilarating, maddening work, and along the way I found friends, enemies, and passion. I found my voice.

And so I had found my calling. Ironically enough, my calling and my major didn’t exactly match, which is a pretty typical occurrence for college kids, I’ve heard. Although I would end up graduating with a degree in speech pathology, I was already moving in a different direction. Instead of applying for graduate level speech pathology programs like most of my classmates, I spent my last year at Miami scouring the Internet for non-profit positions and community service opportunities. Eventually, I took the advice of older, wiser students, friends, and professors, and began to search exclusively for positions in my area through Americorps.

As luck would have it, an Americorps VISTA representative from the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks (OASHF) was scheduled to attend Miami’s fall career fair during my senior year. In the weeks preceding the fair, I read everything I could find about OASHF, including information on their major outreach program called the Ohio Benefit Bank (OBB). Launched in conjunction with the Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, the Benefit Bank is a web-based software program designed to help low-income families and individuals file their taxes and gain access to public benefits. It breaks down the barriers that many people face when applying for government assistance.

Bingo. This organization was right up my alley.

The previous summer, I spent 15 weeks studying the bureaucratic nonsense of the Social Security system through a research grant from the university. I quickly discovered how exhausting navigating the SSA’s red tape could be, and I was infuriated to learn firsthand from ambivalent caseworkers how poorly informed people are throughout the application process.

Even though the OBB is not linked to Social Security applications, I knew I would enjoy working with any program that helps people better navigate and access government benefits. I didn’t need the 10 minute chat with Joe Cennamo, the recruiter at the career fair that day, to know this was the position for me.

I spent the winter months completing my online application, securing my references, and waiting for the VISTA position with the OBB at Shared Harvest to open. The position finally posted on February 5, 2009, I applied that same day and I had my final interview on March 2, 2009. I’d had my eye on the position for 6 months, so you can imagine my delight at being offered the position—I accepted it on the spot.