![]() Hello, My name is Jernard Collins and I am a first year VISTA serving with Lawrence Tech University and Jewish Vocational Services (JVS). My first year as an AmeriCorps VISTA has been promising. Expanding my network, building my public speaking skills, and working on my craft while serving my community is all I could ask for (except maybe an extra $100 with my check, but that’s for another blog). This VISTA year has challenged me to face my fears and push through my self doubt while remaining professional and keeping my VAD in mind to help enlighten my community into financial awareness. The events that I have held, and helped with, have been very beneficial for both the students on campus as well as myself. Engaging with the students on campus is a difficult but rewarding task. One of my first projects was assisting with the Career Services department with their Fall Career Fair. Through this opportunity I was able to connect with employers as well as students, and I was excited to help students connect to different career opportunities. I was also able to host a financial aid table which has really informed the campus about the abundance of money that is awarded every year in scholarships ($46 BILLION). On Average $2.9 billion is left UNCLAIMED. That’s a lot of money to leave on the table. Some students miss out on these opportunities by simply not filling out their FAFSA, so for the months of February, March and April, I will be hosting Financial Aid Awareness tables to help students connect to these scholarships that are missed out on. Along with the Financial Aid Awareness tables, I will also be hosting Financial Literacy workshops that help students with budgeting, learning more about banking, etc. For my first workshop, which will be held in February, I will have Erin Winters who is the spokesperson for Michigan First Credit Union's Young and Free Michigan program. I’m very excited about this upcoming event! JVS has taught me a lot on the financial literacy side, from mutual funds to foreclosure prevention. I help with data entry and making sure information in our systems is updated for clients that utilize JVS services. This experience has been beneficial to me because I was able to learn of the different services JVS has to offer while also learning about the community we serve. Overall my VISTA experience has been tremendous. I have learned and grown a lot in these past six months personally and professionally. This is what makes the VISTA experience worthwhile. I was most happy about participating in the MLK Walk on Martin Luther King Jr. Day with the City of Southfield. I had such a wonderful time!
0 Comments
|
Blog ArchivesJanuary 2020
December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 June 2014 Each blog post was written by one of our VISTAs!
Blog Authors
All
|