VISTA

AmeriCorps VISTA is the national service program designed specifically to fight poverty.  VISTA joined AmeriCorps in 1993 and is now the national leader in the battle to reduce and eliminate poverty in America.

The VISTA at Westminster College is through Pennsylvania Campus Compact and focuses on developing and supporting community service, service-learning, and civic engagement programs at higher education institutions (http://www.paccompact.org/vista.html). Our PACC-VISTA works in the Drinko Center to bridge campus and community through projects in the areas of tutoring and mentoring, volunteer matching, and supporting our service-learning courses.

                                                                                                                                  

Westminster College's Drinko Center for Experiential Learning has announced that Katie Gray is returning as the 2012-2013 Pennsylvania Campus Compact-Volunteer in Service to America (PACC-VISTA). The staff position, focusing on developing and supporting community service, service-learning, and civic engagement programs, is funded by a three-year grant from PACC. 

A large part of Katie's role focuses on the implementation of a collaborative effort between Westminster College and Laurel School District to provide an after-school robotics program, entitled "Transformers," designed to focus on developing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills.  In a dynamic and supportive learning environment, enhanced by the use of robots , Laurel Middle School students work with Westminster College students to develop skills necessary to be successful in the classroom and in the future.

PACC-VISTAs have included:

• Shane Killian, AY 2007 - 2008
• Bethany South, AY 2008 - 2009, Westminster 2008 graduate
• Jeff Ledebur, AY 2009 - 2010, Westminster 2009 graduate
• Katie Gray, AY 2011-2012, Westminster 2011 graduate