VISTA of the Month/Apr. 2010

April 2010:  Deitra Bigger/City Year (CY) 

1. Where are you from?  Lake Wylie, SC.
 

2. What were you doing before becoming an AmeriCorps VISTA? I was a substitute teacher and a therapeutic counselor for Carolina Children's Home. 

3. Why did you join AmeriCorps VISTA? I joined AmeriCorps VISTA because I wanted to see a difference made in the lives of children and their education.  I knew that I wanted to do a year of Service after hearing President Obama speak one night television.  he changed my enitre perspective on giving time to impact another.  If it wasn't for that speech he made on national service I would have never knew about the AmeriCorps*VISTA program. 

4. What are your duties as a VISTA?  I am one of two Midlands Reading Consortium (MRC) Program Coordinators.  We recruit volunteers for six Richland School District One schools to tutor/mentor 1st and 2nd grade students for 30 minutes once a week.  I also plan the non-service portion of City Year Columbia for Fridays.  With that, I help the Corps members decide what their plans will be after City Year by researching different careers. 

5. What are your goals from your year of service?   To have all the students in the MRC Program become more confident in their reading skills and having all of them at least a half a grade level above in reading from where they started.


6. What are your plans after your year of service?  To return school and receive my Masters in Educational Counseling; hopefully using that degree to be a high school guidance counselor.

7. Any special accomplishments?   I was able to get 96 books donated by Columbia-area citizens for the MRC program.  Each of my students in the program were able to receive a book for Christmas.

Deitra is currently finishing up this year's tutoring program and working is on volunteer recruitment for MRC next year.  Anyone interested in becoming a MRC volunteer should contact Deitra @ (803)254-3349 x2224 or dbigger@cityyear.org.