|
Sadness.
Liz Barnes is leaving
the CTC VISTA Project on May 23rd. Over the past few months, I've gotten
to know Ms. Liz well. She's a cool gal with a hankering for books and
a cigarette. She'll tell you all about her hunky man, Kevin, and his
kid, Connor. Here's some other stuff she told me about.-md
Liz, Liz, Showbiz:
When did you first get involved in VISTA?
I was an AmeriCorps member at the YMCA way back in 94-95, encouraging
kids to get involved in their communities through volunteering. After
that I was the Director of the Elder Leadership Program through the
Gerontology Institute at UMB. This was the only program at that time
using older adults as AmeriCorps members.
How did you get involved with the CTC VISTA Project?
When the Elder Leadership Program was winding down, Reebee was in the
process of bringing the CTC Vista project to the University. He called
me to chat about what it was like administratively to coordinate an
AmeriCorps project here at UMB. We talked for a while, he found out
I was looking for a new job and encouraged me to apply for the Assistant
Director position for the CTC Vista Project, and the rest is history!
What’s
your best memory of your time with the Project?
The CTCNet conferences. It was always so exciting to see all the Vistas
together, to get an opportunity to hang out with everyone, hear what
they were doing, see the Vista presentation, and just see everyone that
I hadn’t seen since their PSO.
What will you
miss most about your job?
2 things!
- The PSOs. They
were always so fun for me because it was so exciting to have this
large group of people who were starting out on their year of service.
It was great to finally meet the people I had been talking to as we
were getting everything ready for them to begin their service. We
have always had such great groups of people who have decided to be
Vistas through the project, it seems every PSO I was able to meet
amazing people who I knew that I would be learning so much from over
the next year.
- The Vistas!
You guys are what made my job wonderful. Hearing what Vistas were
doing, helping you solve problems, hearing about your successes and
just getting to know everyone made my job amazing!
What will you
miss least?
Hmmm…how do I answer this one?! Well, budget stuff! And, the administrative
nightmares that are involved with having a federally funded grant at
a state run University!
What do you
plan to do next?
Not sure yet! Am trying to figure out what area I would like to direct
my attention. Definitely will be working in a non-profit, maybe on development/fundraising.
The one thing I want to be sure of is that I am closer to the people
that are being served by the non-profit. I have felt so far removed
from those individuals here at UMB, I need that motivation again.
A quote you
live by:
Someone really made me think about this last year, and now, it is now
one of my favorite quotes and I try to live this way: "The unexamined
life is not worth living."— Socrates
A blurb to inspire
current and graduating VISTAs:
One of my other favorite quotes:
"If you don’t like the way the world is, you change it. You
have an obligation to change it, you just do it one step at a time."
– Marian Wright Edelman
Things that
are most important to you:
This will sound cliché, but…my family, my boyfriend and
his son, my friends. Learning…having new experiences…meeting
new people.
Your favorite
word:
I don’t know if I can say that here.
Your
least favorite word:
NO!
 
Liz
with friends
|
