By Stephanie Wilson
I’m excited and invigorated to be a VISTA member supporting SLATE-Z and the amazing work in the South Los Angeles Promise Zone. It’s hard to recognize when we are exactly where we should be. I have the honor of being the Resource Development Associate in the Foster Youth and Education Workgroups. At SLATE-Z, my role as a VISTA allows me to support the Workgroups and Co-Chairs of these vital groups. Life, for me, is an ongoing experience with benefits in abundance. If we take the time and do the work, we see the possibilities in every action and challenge. The Education Workgroup recently met with presenters, including David Rincon from the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and Betsy Blanchard from the Youth Business Alliance, whose programs guide underserved youth to future living wage work opportunities. SLATE-Z partners promote awareness of the options they may have never thought would be available in healthcare professions. The Youth Business Alliance provides options for youth who want to become entrepreneurs. Of course, you can only do so much in one meeting, but based on the conversation, partners look forward to collaborating and are scheduling time to move forward. More than 30 partners in attendance are collectively thinking about the possibilities of creating living wage jobs and careers for the youth in South Los Angeles.
What’s great about SLATE-Z is the teamwork that goes into every committee, activity, and collective action. As a VISTA, I am learning how SLATE-Z’s strategic planning process supports the success of each lever and workgroup. We work and train together, exhibiting how the backbone supports the body and stands straight and tall to build an unshakable foundation moving forward.
I’m a VISTA who is slightly different. How different, you may ask? Well, I am a graduate student with great-grandkids. Yes, it’s not a typo. It may be considered unusual, but I am delighted to have an opportunity to serve as a VISTA, especially in a Promise Zone. I am familiar with many partners working to make Los Angeles a place where residents have the tools to achieve fulfilling lives with dignity and purpose. Community pride is exhibited in the number of individuals who support the activities or the co-chairs' commitment to examine ways they can facilitate meaningful capacity-building opportunities for future generations. There is so much to learn and build upon in South Los Angeles, and being part of the VISTA team is allowing me a slightly different VISTA, it is a dream come true.
When someone asks what VISTA is, I say it’s people like me and you giving of themselves to serve the communities that need to become stronger, happier, and better together. VISTA programs allow people of all ages to get involved. Finally, I say check out VISTA and see if your service or the service of someone you know will improve your community or another community needing help.