2012-2013 AmeriCorps Member Profiles

 William (Billy) Conry   Sean Harding   Deonte Harrell   Elizabeth Lewis  Irene Katradis  Shirley Lake  Lauren McNiff  Jermichael Mitchell   Jack Parker  Ryan Sullivan   Cody Wehlan   Winfield Whittington  Rosa Williams   

  William (Billy) Conry As a first year AmeriCorps member, William is  very excited to be serving at the Salisbury Zoo. He has a passion for animals, as well as giving back to the community and helping others. Billy states he has a very creative side, which comes in handy as he prepares lessons and activities for the STARS and MAST afterschool programs. He looks forward to being able to make a difference in the community and leaving a positive impact on those that he meets. Here’s to a great year!

 Sean Harding

 Deonte Harrell is 23 years old. He was born and raised in Salisbury, Maryland and graduated from Parkside High School. After high school, he attended Cecil Community College for a year, and then transferred to Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia. Deonte heard of AmeriCorps from a close friend who is a member of the program. After hearing about it, he became very interested in the program because he enjoys working with kids and helping to better his community. After his experience at AmeriCorps, Deonte plans to continue working with children and graduate from Salisbury University.

  Irene Katradis is currently a senior at Salisbury University, studying Conflict Analysis and Dispute Resolution with an International Track and a minor in Art and History. When she is not busy volunteering at the Conflict Center as a mediator, or being active in the SGA, the TOMS Shoes Club, and her sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha, she is spending her time as an AmeriCorps member, serving at The Village of Hope in Salisbury, Maryland. She has a passion for helping others and loves to work with children. She is looking forward to making a difference in the Salisbury community and is excited to see what the future holds after she graduates in the spring. 

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  Shirley Lake Shirley is a mother of three and a grandmother of four who aspires to attend law school in the near future. In 2009, Shirley graduated from Chesapeake College with a Paralegal degree.  She recently completed her bachelor’s degree, majoring in Political Science. In her mind, community service was thought to be a civic luxury granted to wealthy citizens who had time and money at their disposal.  Her college experience allowed her the opportunity to see that community service is the responsibility of every able-bodied citizen. With her limited resources, Shirley has had the rewarding opportunity to work with Habitat for Humanity in Talbot County and New Orleans. She has assisted the Maryland Food Bank in distributing holiday food boxes, and has helped to register Salisbury University students to vote.  She finally realized that community service did not require wealth, just the willingness to help and a desire to make a difference.  Shirley feels that AmeriCorps is giving her the opportunity to serve in her community, Caroline County, while gaining very valuable knowledge and skills in the process.

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  Elizabeth Lewis is a 22-year-old recent graduate of the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  Elizabeth graduated with a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs, and is excited to use her degree and passion for service to give back to her local community this year through the ShoreCorps/PALS program.  Elizabeth has always had a strong passion for community service, but an opportunity in college to intern with an organization involved with the acculturation of refugees furthered her commitment and passion to serve her community and help those in need.

This year Elizabeth will be serving with the Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center. She is incredibly excited to serve with her fellow AmeriCorps volunteers, as well as with such a wonderful organization that envisions amazing objectives of community service linking youth and adults alike. Elizabeth strives to live by the famous quote once made by Anne Frank, "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."  She hopes that this quote will continue to inspire her and others to work their very best to make themselves and those around them the very best they can be. 

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 Lauren 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 Wor-Wic Community College and her major will be Social Work with a minor of Sociology with an anticipated graduation of around 2017.  She has previously served with AmeriCorps in 2010 and is thrilled to be back serving youth and her community again this year. She is still happy with her change in scenery, and she continues to work hard on her studies to ensure a degree that will allow her to work in the field to assist youth in their growth and maturity transitioning both in life and at school.

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  Jermichael Mitchell is a Salisbury native and Wicomico High School graduate (2002 state championship basketball player).   Jermichael wears many hats in the community.  He is the Co-founder and President of “KIDZ” R.O.C. (Reach Our Children) basketball/youth program; Program director at the Stop the Violence Rec Center and an active member of his community where he can be seen coaching basketball, running events, and/or speaking at seminars. This year Jermichael will be serving at the Wicomico Mentoring Project where he is excited about changing the lives of youth through example.  Jermichael plans to use the year of service to network and to get a degree that can be used to help save the lives of the youth and people in his community.  Jermichael’s passion and love of service has earned him the 2012 Wicomico County Branch N.A.A.C.P Award for community service.

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 Jack Parker is 24 years old and a graduate of Salisbury University with an Elementary Education degree. Serving at soup kitchens and rec centers in Salisbury, has opened his eyes to the needs in the area. Jack feels he can make a difference by serving with the AmeriCorps program. This year Jack will be serving at the Ward Museum where he is responsible for teaching after school programs such as STARS:MAST. After serving with AmeriCorps, Jack hopes to use his experiences to become an Elementary teacher where he can continue to be a role model and have a positive effect on the children in the community.

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  Cody Wehlan is 23 years old and a native of Salisbury, MD. Graduating from Parkside High School in 2007, Cody attended Salisbury University where he is a Senior Majoring in Conflict and Dispute Resolution, with a Minor in Computer Science and Psychology. He is a second-year AmeriCorps member serving with the Mid Shore Community Mediation Center . His goals are one day being a program director for Conflict Resolution programs in Public schools. He is the oldest of 4 children and holds a passion in his heart for being an older brother for others.

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  Winfield Whittington is a former member of the proud “Hokie Nation” at Virginia Tech.   He takes every opportunity to continue his Alma Mater’s motto of “Ut Prosim” (That I May Serve) seriously.  It is a motto that he has  cherished and put into practice even as a “youngin” growing up on the sandy shores of Virginia Beach, VA.  Winfield  says that his first introduction into what it means to truly serve happened around when he was about 3 ½ years old when  his little brother was born. “Since day one I made it my mission to be the best big brother I could possibly be for him. By being a positive role model, mentor, guiding hand, and friend, I think I learned the secret of service at a very young age,” states Winfield.  “It is so simple, you just have to be selfless. “  You have to be able to give and serve without worries of reciprocation or notoriety. From that point on he found himself constantly in positions where he was in service and working with the youth. In high school he earned a majority of his community service hours by volunteering as a library aide and working with the Food Bank of Hampton Roads. In college he once again found himself in another position of service as a resident advisor (RA) Being an RA is truly a selfless job because you’re always at the beck and call of your residents.

Winfield views the AmeriCorps program to be another opportunity to make positive changes in the lives of the youth in the Wicomico County community.  He decided to join AmeriCorps this year so he could serve with others who embrace the service philosophy and together realize something so much greater than any one of them could accomplish as an individual.

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  Rosa Williams is 23years old  and from Upper Marlboro, MD. This is her first year with AmeriCorps. She majored in Psychology with a minor in Sociology at Salisbury University. She had never heard of AmeriCorps until last year.  Rosa chose to do AmeriCorps because she believes in the principle of the organization and also it gives her the opportunity to gain experience in her field. She will be serving this year with Junior Achievement, recruiting volunteers around the eastern shore area to teach local kindergarten through high school students on work readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship. What she loves about serving is the opportunity to be involved in the community and most importantly the opportunity to change the lives of children by preparing them for a promising future.

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