Salve Regina welcomes two AmeriCorps VISTA members

The Office of Community Service has partnered with the national service program AmeriCorps VISTA for the fourth consecutive year, and has welcomed two VISTA members to campus: Shannon Finnell and Melanie Tomlinson.

Nationally, VISTA members work with nonprofit organizations and public agencies to help them more effectively bring individuals and communities out of poverty. About 6,500 VISTAs are placed each year in more than 1,200 projects around the country.

Throughout the academic year, Finnell will focus on the University’s community partnerships, while Tomlinson will focus on incorporating community service into academic courses.

A 2014 Salve Regina graduate, Finnell majored in business and finance with a minor in international studies. She participated in the Nicaragua and New Orleans service trips, the Service Plunge and the Scholarships for Service program.

“My goal is to help understand the poverty that’s in Newport,” Finnell said. “There’s really a need for service in the community, so I’m looking forward to enhancing my leadership skills, working with students and giving back to the community that I’ve been able to live in for four years.”

A 2014 University of Rhode Island graduate, Tomlinson majored in human development and family studies, with a minor in leadership studies. She worked with both community service and student activities and participated in URI’s Scholarships for Service program during her senior year.

While at Salve Regina, “I’d like to learn more about community service on different campuses and take some of the ideas that may have worked really well at URI and try to incorporate them here to make these programs bigger and better,” Tomlinson said.

To learn more about the VISTA program, visit the AmeriCorps website.