Bring on the summer! VISTA 2012

                                    AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associate 2012

My name is Sam Thomas, and I am a rising senior at Marietta College majoring in Psychology and minoring in French. I participate in a variety of different activities on campus such as Student Senate, Circle K International, Rotaract, and the Ultimate Frisbee team. My plans after graduation are far from concrete... Right now I am contemplating grad school for Speech Pathology or Public Health, or possibly serving with the Peace Corps. 

One of the main reasons I chose to serve with VISTA Summer Associates was because of my study abroad experience. After traveling around the world and taking part in service projects with Semester at Sea, I knew that I needed to keep making a difference regardless how big or small. One particular influential experience that I had was in Cape Town, South Africa. I volunteered with a non-profit called Operation Hunger. We helped serve food to children in Khayelitsha Township, and it was such as eye-opening experience. Even though these children barely had the necessities to survive, they could still laugh and play on the playground like any other privileged child. I left that township with a renewed sense to give back to my own community and improve the living standards of those who were not privileged. I am able to do so by being an AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associate. 

Lunchtime in Khayelitsha Township