Illinois State University Stevenson Center

This is a podcast recorded by Applied Economic and Community Development Fellow Ward Westray, who is in the second year of his Stevenson Center fellowship. In the podcast, Ward speaks about his general background and what led him to join the Stevenson Center at Illinois State, including his two respective AmeriCorps experiences and why they were so instrumental in making service to others the central tenet of his career.

Hello lovely listeners! Welcome to our Stevenson Center Podcast; “A Gaggle of Gals.” In this episode, Hannah Gdalman (Peace Corps Fellow, Sociology), Isabella Green (ACED Fellow, Sociology), and Rose Commins (ACED Fellow, Kinesiology and Recreation) discuss their past service experiences with AmeriCorps and Peace Corps, reflect on the first year of grad school madness, share thesis progress, and talk about their current professional placements, exploring the ways they have implemented their ISU coursework into their new positions. The gals provide a glimpse into the lives of Stevenson Center students as they discuss their academic (classes, professors, and projects) and social (cohort support, life in Bloomington-Normal) lives during grad school. Listen to find out more about the unique perspectives these gals bring, and hear what they have to say about their experiences as Stevenson Center Fellows!

Casey joined the Stevenson Center's Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows Program from California. In this podcast he discusses his experiences with Peace Corps Ukraine, adjusting to graduate classes, life in Bloomington-Normal, and his professional practice with the McLean County Regional Planning Commission in Bloomington, IL, where he researches a variety of planning and transportation topics.

This podcast features Orsolya Ficsor, a graduate fellow for the Stevenson Center's Applied Community and Economic Development Fellows Program. Orsolya talks about her year of service in City Year Dallas and how it brought her to ISU, her studies in Anthropology, and her work at the East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging. Orsolya shares how her service in City Year inspired her research interests, what life is like in Bloomington-Normal, and some advice for prospective students.

Listen as Joel and Ryan share about their experience as ACED fellows and discuss what they have learned about organizational culture after working in the nonprofit sector and while studying at Illinois State University and the Stevenson Center.Music from https://filmmusic.io"Cheery Monday" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Stevenson Center Fellows Ana Fochesatto and Jordan Norton have been working in youth development organizations for their 11-month fellowships to complete their Master's in Community and Economic Development. Listen to learn more about their experience!

I am a graduate student at Illinois State University studying sociology within the Applied Community Economic Development Program through the Stevenson Center. Prior to enrolling in the Master's program, I served as an AmeriCorps member in City Year Kansas City providing added support in a classroom setting as a primary focus. I now continue to serve as an AmeriCorps member at a non-profit called Hope Meadows located in Rantoul, IL which provides below-market rent housing in exchange that residents provide 6 hours of volunteering within the 22 acre community per week.

After earning her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from DePaul University in 2011, Rachel Almburg worked for Global Brigades in Ghana to promote healthcare, economic development, and access to clean water. She then returned to Chicago to serve as an AmeriCorps Member with Northwestern Settlement House, which provides youth education and other services with the goal of disrupting generational poverty.After a year of interdisciplinary coursework, Almburg is now applying her skills with the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority's Research and Analytics team. Almburg finds the work both informative and helpful for her future career.

Juan Zamarripa is completing his professional practice with Credit Builders Alliance (CBA) in Washington DC. In his capacity as the Data and Communications Fellow, Juan is tasked with evaluating current data intake strategies, recommending new strategies to make data collection more efficient, and improving CBA member engagement by analyzing CBA’s social media communications strategy, and outlining new efforts to increase engagement. Juan has a B.A in Economics and Political Science, and will soon have an M.S. in Applied Economics from Illinois State University. Prior to his time with the Stevenson Center, Juan worked with nonprofits in Washington, DC and Northern Virginia focusing on college access and success.Austin Moser is a Peace Corps Fellow with the Housing Assistance Council. He is working within their Research and Information Department to provide in-depth research on a variety of specific topics in the field of rural housing issues. Austin has a B.S. in Economics from Virginia Tech, and is working towards an M.S. in Applied Economics from Illinois State University. Austin is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, having served in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho from 2015-2017.During their first year with the Stevenson Center, Juan and Austin analyzed data for their graduate research assistantships with the McLean County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.

Hunter Ryan is working towards a MS in Kinesiology at Illinois State University. Prior to resuming his academic career, Mr. Ryan lived in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala where we worked as a program manager for an international study abroad organization while also managing a local small business' soccer team in area leagues. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay from 2012-2015 where we worked with young people using soccer as a tool to meditate conflict and build values. He is a two time AmeriCorps member, holds a BA in Philosophy, and constantly seeks to irritate the status quo.