2010-2011 AmeriCorps Member Profiles
Quincy
Allen Natalee
Cartwright Geneva
Collins Ciara
Cooks Jonathan
Goldklang
Michael
Greenfield Ashley
Gunter Jamelle
Horsey Katherine
Kitzrow Laurin
McNiff Ashley
Meckley Takara Melton Beverly
Moyer Brooks
Onley Aleshia
Polk Alessa
Rash Josalyn
Rolfe Sonya
White Tori
Williams
 Quincy Allen is 34 years-old, and hails from
Baltimore. Being a senior at Salisbury University, he will be
graduating this May with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication
Arts and a minor in Sociology. He originally attended Wor-Wic
Community College and University of Maryland Eastern Shore, or
UMES, but finally landed in Salisbury, and he is happy with the
change. He learned about the AmeriCorps Program 4 years ago
while studying for a class in the library. He saw a poster with
AmeriCorps details and knew that he should be involved in the
program. Quincy has worked with the Board of Education at Delmar
Elementary school, the Wicomico Family and Partnership in
Wicomico County and this year he is working in the Wicomico
Middle School with the WISE Program which is an after-school
program that motivates students to do better in school through
discussions, after-school activities, and tutoring. Quincy
prides himself in wanting to create and motivate change in a
community, and is happy that he is in AmeriCorps because it
fuels his passion and career choice of one day being a guidance
counselor by giving him a lot of hands-on experience.
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 Natalee Cartwright graduated from Pocomoke High School
in 2002 and because she is the seventh of eleven children and
always helping the family, Natalee knew that helping others was
something that she wanted to achieve. She is going to graduate
in May 2011 from Wor-Wic Community College with an Associate’s
Degree in Chemical Dependency Counseling, which will help her
reach her goal in helping at-risk children. Originally, Natalee
could not find time to fit AmeriCorps into her schedule, but in
December 2010 AmeriCorps contacted her and told her that they
had found a position at the Health Department. Now she currently
is serving at the Worchester County Health Department in Snow
Hill with Helping Adolescents Recover Today Program, or H.A.R.T.
Natalee was so glad to be serving here because she has always
enjoyed helping youth and hopes to one day work with the Health
Department. She will be attending Wilmington University in the
Fall of 2011 and will be working on her Bachelors and Masters in
School Counseling. Natalee is so glad that she got to work and
serve for AmeriCorps because it helped her network, and meet
others who were as passionate about helping others as she is.
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 Geneva Collins is a second year member here at
AmeriCorps this year. Even though she is 67 years of age, she is
still making a bigger difference than most 20 year olds! Geneva
heard about AmeriCorps through her grandson, Shawn Johnson, who
was surfing the web one day and knew that his grandmother would
be perfect for this kind of service. Since she loves serving
with children, she is serves this year at Delmar Elementary
School and has worked with children in her service last year as
well. She chose AmeriCorps because Geneva knew that it was a
good way to learn more about the community and what is going on
in other places. What she loves about serving so much is that it
keeps her busy, keeps her young, and she loves working with the
young people because they really make her day worthwhile. Geneva
says that it is a good reason for getting up so early in the
morning, so she can show the children that she loves them and
can solve any problem for them.
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 Ciara
Cooks is a second year member with the AmeriCorps Program.
Being a 24-year old senior at Salisbury University, she is
graduating in May 2012 with a degree in Social Work with a minor
in Psychology. She heard about the AmeriCorps Program from her
younger sister, who also attends Salisbury University, and when
she did more research about the program she knew that this was
something that she wanted to be a part of. Ciara loves
AmeriCorps because we have the same kind of principles that she
really believes in, like Community Service, volunteering, and
helping the youth. She enjoys serving because she loves being
able to give back to the community. It allows her to see the
community for what it really is and what the community really
needs so that she can help to the best of her ability. She hopes
to one day use these skills that she has obtained from this
experience and use it towards her future career in child
protective services.
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 Jonathan Goldklang is from Rockville, MD with a
Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and Health from
Salisbury University. Being 30 years of age and married, he now
teaches and has coached basketball, track and field, and indoor
soccer. Since he is a big lover of all sports, especially all
Washington-based teams, he plans on eventually becoming a
program director of an After School Program or of summer camps
so that he can not only do something that he loves but continue
to help other people. Jonathan serves at the Wicomico
Partnership, and joined AmeriCorps because it looked like a
great opportunity to serve the local community. The diversity of
tasks through his service site has allowed him to gain knowledge
in areas which he would not normally engage and has allowed him
to challenge himself. What Jonathan enjoys the most about his
service is that he gets to spend his time with other people who
he can help. He finds seeing changes in family behavior to be
rewarding “I have seen parents become more active in their
child’s life,” Jonathan said about his experiences this service
year, and that is the most rewarding of them all.
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 Michael Greenfield is 22 years-old and a graduate of
Salisbury University with a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish, and he
even had the chance to travel abroad to Ecuador. Even though he
recently graduated, he is now looking into going back to school
to get his Masters in Education. Since Michael has always
believed in serving in his community, he was an active member
for a long time in Boy Scouts, he knew that AmeriCorps was the
right thing for him. He is serving at the Ward Museum as an
educational assistant, and he runs after-school programs,
elementary school programs, and field trips with the Ward
Museum. Michael loves his experience there now and cannot wait
to finish up the year. In the future, he plans on becoming a
teacher in a local high school in Salisbury. Since he grew up
here in Salisbury he knows that he wants to give back the
community. He also plans on spending a year in South America
teaching English to children. AmeriCorps helped him realize what
he wanted to do and he is so thankful for the experience.
Video:
Maryland's Faces of Service: Michael Greenfield
-
view
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 Ashley Gunter is from Crisfield, MD and graduated from
Swarthmore College with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and
obtained 2 minors in Black Studies and Biology. Ashley served
with AmeriCorps last year at Worcester County Health Department
in Prevention. She specifically worked with an afterschool
program called "Just for Guys" which targets fifth and sixth
grade boys to teach them leadership, community service, and the
importance of remaining drug free. These kids taught her so
much, and because the experience last year was so rewarding, she
decided to come back again this year and serve again! Her
service site this year is with the College and Career Access
Program at Crisfield and Washington High Schools in Somerset
County. Ashley helps high school students throughout the college
application process, showing seniors that applying for college
is a good thing. Since her stay at these schools, the students
have become more willing and eager to apply to colleges. She
believes that higher education is the key to success and with
help individuals escape from poverty, making this experience
extremely meaningful for her. Ashley wanted to do service for
her community before she attends medical school. She hopes to
one day practice medicine on the Eastern Shore.
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 Jamelle Horsey is a graduate of Delaware Tech College
with his Associates Degree in Human Services. Jamelle is now 30
years-old and is now planning to go back to college in the fall
of 2011 to get his Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work at Salisbury
University. He also wants to continue his college education by
getting his graduate degree in 2013. He heard about AmeriCorps
through the Salisbury University website, and Jamelle chose
AmeriCorps because he enjoys helping people and serving the
community, along with the benefit of gaining financial help to
pay for his college this coming fall. Jamelle serves at the
Wicomico Partnership for Families and Children where he helps
children and families to work together and appreciate each other
and their community. He enjoys serving his community because he
loves to help the youth reach their potential, along with
building their self-worth. Even though he doesn’t really know
what he is going to do after he graduates college, he knows now
that his future is going to be exciting and he is hopeful about
what will happen.
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 Katherine Kitzrow graduated from Salisbury University
in 2008 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts. Now 24
years-old, she plans on attending Del-Tech in the fall of 2011
for Occupational Therapy. Her brother, Andy Kitzrow, told her
about AmeriCorps because he served a couple years prior. Since
he really enjoyed serving, he told Katie how much he loved it
and it made her want to join as well. Katie is serving at
Salisbury Promise, just like her brother. What Salisbury Promise
is, is a program that embodies ‘Five Promises’ which help youth
become productive citizens: Caring Adults, Healthy Start and
Future, Safe Places, Marketable Skills and Opportunities to
Serve. It also works with out-reach youth programs and
non-profit organizations to help better the community and the
citizens in it. What she really enjoys is working with the youth
here in Salisbury, and knowing that she is making a difference
in the world. Katie feels like she is a real role model for
these children and hopes to continue to be the good change in
any community.
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 Laurin McNiff is originally from Slidell, Louisiana.
She moved around quite a bit, until she decided to move back to
the Eastern Shore of Maryland with family after working for 5
years on Wall Street in New York City. She now attends Salisbury
University and her major will be Environmental Conservation or
Zoology when she graduates in 2017. She found out about
AmeriCorps through word of mouth, and is so happy that she
decided to join because it has really helped her make changes in
her life and in others. She loves to volunteer, and volunteers
at the Salisbury Zoo. She is so happy with her change in
scenery, and she hopes to continue to work with the
wildlife/animals in the future. She is so glad that AmeriCorps
was willing to let her serve with them and she hopes to join
again next year so that she can continue to work with animals at
the Zoo.
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 Ashley Meckley graduated from Salisbury University in
2010 with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. But then
realizing her true calling, she decided to go back to school.
She now attends Wor Wic Community College to get her second
degree in Nursing. She heard about AmeriCorps from her friends
when she was trying to find a job that would be flexible with
her classes along with something that she would enjoy doing. She
serves at the Salisbury Zoo this year, and she chose AmeriCorps
because it was a good opportunity to volunteer, get paid a small
stipend, and earn money for her college loans. Ashley also
thinks that it will one day make a great resume builder along
with a great conversation piece. AmeriCorps has really helped
her a lot and she hopes to do it next year as well. Her future
plans include getting her Nursing Major complete and then
getting a job at a local hospital working in labor and delivery.
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 Takara Melton is a 23 year-old
senior at Salisbury University and she will be graduating in May
2011 with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work. She heard about
AmeriCorps from a previous member who said that it was a great
experience and knew that she would want to experience it as
well. She did not know though, that serving with AmeriCorps
would give her so many opportunities to learn new things, meet
all kinds of people, and form great relationships with the youth
of the community. Takara is currently serving at the Telamon
Corporation which is an outreach program that is geared towards
helping at-risk youth receive either a GED and/or help them
obtain or maintain jobs somewhere. For her future plans, she
hopes to work in the Baltimore or Washington D.C. helping
at-risk youth. This was something that Takara always wanted to
do, but with her experience with AmeriCorps, it only solidified
her wish to help others and serve her community.
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 Beverly Moyer is a second year volunteer at
AmeriCorps, and she loved it here as soon as she started.
Originally going to college at Philadelphia Textiles and Science
(now Philadelphia University), she graduated in May, 1976 with a
degree in Textile Design. Beverly heard about AmeriCorps from a
friend and member of IRP. Her friend wanted her to do something
worthwhile while she was in between jobs. Beverly has worked
since she was 16, but she has served at many other organizations
in various places such as schools, a township public water
board, fundraisers, and doing “green” activities. But she has
come to find out that her passion is teaching and helping
children. Serving this year at the Delmar Elementary School as a
teacher’s aide, she absolutely loves it. Beverly loves helping
children achieve their goals in learning and succeeding in
school, and is so glad that AmeriCorps helped to find her
passion.
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 Brooks Onley graduated from
Salisbury University in 2007 with a degree in Philosophy and a
minor in Biology.
But
before that final accomplishment he also attended Salisbury
University while it was Salisbury State University, City College
of San Francisco, and then the University of Alaska in
Fairbanks. Brooks knows that even if he was not in the program
now, he was still affected by it during his life. In the 1990’s,
he had four different friends serve in the National Civilian
Community Corps or NCCC and two of them met their future spouses
in the program. He has also served in the Maryland Conservation
Corps, or the MCC, but he regrets that he never finished the
program. Fortunately for AmeriCorps, he decided to join the
program and see it through to the end. He is currently serving
at the Delmarva Discovery Center in Pocomoke, MD. He volunteered
at Delmarva Discovery Center a year prior to joining AmeriCorps,
so when it came time to choose a place he knew that the DDC was
where he wanted to continue. Brooks chose to serve in AmeriCorps
because it allows him to participate in something that he
already loves to do. He loves teaching children about the
natural world because he loves it himself. Brooks believes that
AmeriCorps has allowed him to sharpen his focus, and help him
decide what he would like to do in the future.
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 Aleshia Polk graduated from Salisbury University last
May with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She is 21 years-old,
and is currently working on applications to a Master’s program
in Counseling Psychology. Aleshia found an ad in the Daily times
along with attending a job fair at Salisbury University, and
this is where she found AmeriCorps. She chose AmeriCorps because
she wanted a chance to give back to her community, and it also
gave her something to do while she is applying for those
graduate programs. Aleshia is serving at the Center for a Clean
Start in the Holly Center where she looks after toddlers of
mothers who are taking rehabilitation classes. She really enjoys
serving and donating her time to this particular site because
this was her first time working with babies and toddlers and
they really make every day rewarding for her. Aleshia says that
most of all, you can always count on lots of laughter, and they
can learn so much in a short amount of time, but it’s really
them teaching her about life which makes it so special to her.
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 Alessa Rash is a hard-working student here at
AmeriCorps who, while going to school, and working at University
Park as an Residential Assistant, she also makes time to serve
others. This 22 year-old from New Market, MD is graduating in
May with a degree in Psychology, and she serves at the Kids of
Honor Program. Alessa empowers students to graduate from high
school. She heard about AmeriCorps through some friends, and she
thought that it would make a great part-time job. Alessa really
finds this kind of work meaningful and fulfilling in her life.
And she hopes to work with children in the future because of the
experience she gained with AmeriCorps. Giving back to the
community is something Alessa says makes everything worthwhile
at the end of her service days. Serving with AmeriCorps has
prepared Alessa for her future and she feels her service year is
definitely time well-invested.
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 Josalyn Rolfe graduated from the University of Memphis
with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Health Studies, but
she never thought that she could be serving in such a great way
as she is now. Now that she is a graduate student at University
Maryland Eastern Shore, or UMES, in the Education Program and
will be graduating in the fall of 2011. She decided to do the
AmeriCorps Program because a close friend told her about the
program and how much she enjoyed it. So she knew that Josalyn
would enjoy it too. She is currently serving at Wicomico
Partnership for Families and Children. The Partnership works
with elementary students and they ask the children to think
about what improvements they would like to see in their
community. Then they create projects to help make the changes
permanent. What Josalyn enjoys about serving the most is that
she is working with little ones. Listening to children is always
hard for some people to do and people forget that they are real
people too, so getting their opinion about what can be changed
has really been a fulfilling experience.
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 Sonya White,
graduated from Morgan State
University with a Bachelor’s degree in Physical
Education. After hearing about AmeriCorps from a co-worker, Sonya
couldn’t think of a better way to spend her time because she
has
always wanted to better her community. Since she loves working
with children, working at the Wicomico Mentoring Program for her
is perfect. She works with Bennett Middle School teens and Glen
Avenue Elementary school children who are disadvantaged. Sonya
finds this most rewarding because she knows that she is making a
difference in that child’s life. She doesn’t care what their
situation is, she always tells them how beautiful they are
inside and out, and that is all that really matters to her.
Sonya's interview on PAC 14 can be viewed at
-Mentoring Matters .
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 Tori Williams is 22 years-old and a senior at
Salisbury University. This spring she plans to graduate with a
Bachelor’s degree in Social Work. Coming from the local
Millsboro, DE, Tori learned about AmeriCorps from her brother
who served as a local volunteer last year. Her brother worked
for the Sussex County Habitat for Humanity in Georgetown, DE as
the volunteer coordinator. Tori has always had a true passion
for serving others, and has participated in various service
projects with her local church. For Tori, AmeriCorps has really
been an amazing experience. Her service site is at Delamr
Elementary School in Delamar, MD, serving in the Guidance
Department. Through AmeriCorps, Tori finds herself always
working with some incredible individuals, and relishes in the
experiences. The incredible people not only include her mentors
and students but also her fellow AmeriCorps members. She
encourages everyone and anyone to serve at the AmeriCorps or as
its more locally known ShoreCorps/PALS Program here at Salisbury
University because of the impact that it has had on her.
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