The S-Files

Latest Episodes:

Gaining Experience in Higher Education while Serving Students with College Possible Wisconsin Apr 30, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service story of AmeriCorps member Haiying Yang, who is serving this year with College Possible Wisconsin. Haiying describes his service providing coaching to 164 college students from underserved backgrounds, helping them navigate academic and financial challenges they face throughout the year and assisting them with career development along their path to graduating from college. He discusses how he connects with the students on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus where he is based, as well as how he provides assistance to students at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Tennessee State University. Listen in to learn about how Haiying is making a difference for college students while also gaining experience he hopes to use in a future career assisting students in higher education.

Providing Environmental Education to the Community with WisCorps at The Nature Place Mar 24, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service story of AmeriCorps member Emma Ehlers, who is currently serving her second term with WisCorps at The Nature Place in La Crosse. Emma describes her service this year as a Community Program Educator and the programs she helps lead, such as visiting schools and other organizations with their Critter Mobile and a combination of their two lizards, three snakes, ornate box turtle, and Madagascar hissing cockroaches. She discusses the wide variety of programs and efforts she supports in her role, from participating in community events to share about the natural world to the Memory Camps for adults with mild to moderate dementia with different presenters at their center in Myrick Park. Emma then describes her service as an Environmental Educator the previous summer, providing themed environmental program for children on different nature topics each week. Listen in to learn about how Emma gained a love of nature in elementary service and how serving at The Nature Place let her reconnect with Humphrey, the corn snake that had once been in her fourth grade classroom but is now one of the animals at The Nature Place that she uses when providing environmental education.

Supporting Public Health with MCHS Community Corps and MCHS Recovery Corps Feb 26, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service story of AmeriCorps member Trisha Bradley, who is currently serving her second term with Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) Community Corps at the Dodge County Public Health Department, and had previously served another term with MCHS Recovery Corps. Trisha describes how she helps get information out to the public about health concerns as part of her service at the Dodge County Public Health Department, ranging from spreading the word about recent food recalls to giving presentations about the impacts of social isolation on mental health. She also discusses her efforts helping the health department complete its Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan, including doing focus groups and surveys to help assess community needs and creating standard operating procedures. Trisha then describes her service with MCHS Recovery Corps, providing coaching and resources to support individuals in recovery from substance abuse disorders. Listen in to learn about why the MCHS midterm training was one of her favorite experiences from her AmeriCorps service and how the training and professional development she received because of her AmeriCorps service helped lead her to a full-time job helping families that she will have following her service.

Supporting Student Success and the Service of AmeriCorps Members with Wisconsin Reading Corps Jan 16, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps alumnus Randy Schneider, who served for four terms as an AmeriCorps members with Wisconsin Reading Corps and has been one of their program managers over the last three years. Randy describes his service as a literacy tutor working with kindergarten through third grade students over four years at Longfellow School in Milwaukee, including in-person tutoring sessions and modifying to virtual sessions for a portion of his service during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also discusses serving as a lead tutor for his final three terms, gradually expanding the number of fellow AmeriCorps members he supported during his time with the program. Randy then describes his transition to becoming a program manager with Wisconsin Reading Corps and how he has continued providing support to their AmeriCorps members in this new role, as well as the advice he would give to those interested in AmeriCorps service or those already serving. Listen in to learn about the significant impact that serving with AmeriCorps has had for Randy as a physically disabled cancer survivor, who has gone from struggling to make ends meet to thriving thanks, in no small part, to the doors opened by his AmeriCorps service.

Building the Capacity of Schools to Support Farm to School Programming Dec 18, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps member Nicole Eshelman, who is serving her second term with Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction AmeriCorps Farm to School. She has been serving students in the greater La Crosse area the last two years, being based at the Holmen School District and Extension La Crosse County - University of Wisconsin-Madison. Nicole describes the variety of service activities she has done supporting the sustainability of Farm to School programming at thirty-four schools across the region, including fostering partnerships with various community organizations to bolster various Farm to School lessons and activities. She also discusses leading nutrition education lessons for a wide range of students, from 4K to seniors in high school, and how she adapts concepts and activities for different grade levels. Listen to learn how Nicole began her AmeriCorps service as a way to use her degree focusing on health and wellness management and program building after making a career change and how she has found enjoyment making an impact in the community by being a part of providing healthier meals and nutrition, environmental, and garden education for her own children and those across all of the schools she serves.

Connecting Students and the School Community to Local Foods with Farm to School Nov 25, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps member Kori Blumer, who is serving her second term with Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction AmeriCorps Farm to School at the Monona Grove School District. Kori describes the variety of service activities she has done leading nutrition education lessons and cafeteria taste tests, helping to get local foods into schools, and supporting the sustainability of school gardens and farm to school programming across the district. She also discusses the launch of their new community dinner series during Farm to School month in October to highlight their efforts in procuring local foods for school meals. Kori shares about how her academic background in nutrition and becoming a registered dietitian helped lead her to her Farm to School AmeriCorps service and the enjoyment she has found working with students and connecting with the community. Listen to learn how Kori is using varied lessons across the age range of students she is serving, as well as using a variety of foods to make connections with students, from local butternut squash, beans, and corn in Three Sisters Stew to help celebrate Native American Heritage Month to exposing students to the use of insects in foods and agriculture in different parts of the world by bringing in chocolate chip cookies made with cricket powder and chapulines (fried grasshoppers).

Providing a Voice for Youth that have Experienced Homelessness, Trafficking, and Exploitation with WAHRS at Pathfinders Oct 29, 2024

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In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps member Kathryn Yang, who served three AmeriCorps terms with the Wisconsin Association for Homeless and Runaway Services at Pathfinders in Milwaukee and was recognized this year with the Governor’s Service Award as AmeriCorps Member of the Year and the Impactful Service Award at the national Excellence in AmeriCorps Awards. Kathryn describes how she was served by Pathfinders herself after being a survivor of being exploited to human trafficking and bringing this experience to numerous aspects of her AmeriCorps service the last few years. She discusses helping provide a voice for youth experiencing similar circumstances through the Collaborative Rapid Advocacy for Youth (CRAY) group and the Power of Paths (POP) Youth Action Board. Additionally, she describes how she has conducted support groups for women in detention and trainings for police officers and medical staff when working with youth experiencing homelessness and exploitation. Listen in to learn how Kathryn grew in numerous ways during her AmeriCorps service with WAHRS at Pathfinders, including finding her own voice and the ability to speak openly and unafraid conducting street outreach as part of the Street Beat team.

Assisting the Public at the Milwaukee County Courthouse with MJC AmeriCorps Sep 19, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps member Tholia Lewis, who is serving with the Milwaukee Justice Center (MJC). Tholia discusses her service assisting members of the public at the Milwaukee County Courthouse in several ways, including serving as a courthouse navigator, helping them complete forms needed for different processes, and providing information at their help desk, as well as assisting people calling their helpline prior to coming to the courthouse. Listen in to learn about Tholia’s experience serving during the initial year of the MJC AmeriCorps program and how she is gaining experience helping people navigate the court system before beginning law school.

Serving with the Green Bay Conservation Corps while completing High School Aug 19, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps member Morgan Westlund, who has been serving over the last year with the Green Bay Conservation Corps (GBCC). Morgan discusses the service she has done so far this year in the city’s parks and other outdoor spaces, serving part-time during the school year while completing high school and then full-time this summer following her graduation. She describes how much of her service over the winter was focused on restoration and removing invasive species, while her service over the last several months has featured a variety of projects and plantings. Morgan also highlights how her participation in the leadership pathway program with GBCC and the experience she gained earlier in the year have led her to become the crew lead for one of their three crews this summer, leading the crew based at the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary. Listen in to learn about how serving with the Green Bay Conservation Corps while completing the classes for both her high school diploma and an associate degree has opened up several opportunities for Morgan and how she hopes to build upon this experience as she continues her studies in college while majoring in environmental science.

Helping individuals with disabilities transition into adulthood with Easterseals Wisconsin Jul 23, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps member Kourtney Carrico, who recently completed her third term with Easterseals Wisconsin as their Transitions Coordinator. Kourtney discusses her service leading programming for individuals with disabilities ages 16-25 to help them gain skills and experiences to support their transition into adulthood. She describes the Transitions Weekends that she organized for campers four times a year, including field trips to allow for job exploration and activities to learn skills for preparing meals, doing interviews, cleaning and packing, and going online safely. Listen in to learn about how Kourtney will be leading the inaugural Transitions Week at Easterseals Wisconsin Camps this summer and to find out how Kourtney has been able to bring the experiences and knowledge she has gained both as a special education teacher during the year and as an AmeriCorps member to impact the different students and campers with whom she has worked the last three years.

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