Much of Matt Carluzzo's VISTA work focused on building awareness around local and national poverty issues. ACE summer staff intern Ashley Bell ’10 interviewed Matt for the Fall 2007 ACE Reporter.
Exciting New Vistas for Our Own ACE VISTAs
Matt Carluzzo is a member of AmeriCorps VISTA, serving in the ACE office; however, by the time this newsletter goes to press, he will have assumed his new duties as Cook Commons dean—but more on that later in the article. VISTA is the acronym for Volunteers in Service to America. It is the branch of AmeriCorps that focuses on poverty issues, placing its members in one-year positions with the mission to “create and expand programs that ultimately bring low-income individuals and communities out of poverty.”
Many people don’t associate poverty with Middlebury College or with Addison County, Vermont, and one might ask why there is a VISTA posted at such a prestigious liberal arts college. According to Matt, a VISTA at Middlebury makes good sense because “the ACE office by its nature must deal directly with issues of poverty in Addison County” as part of its service mandate—approximately 9 percent of Addison country residents are living at or below the poverty line. Much of Matt’s work “focuses on building awareness around [poverty] issues and collaborating with students, faculty, and community members to address them.” ACE is involved with many organizations working to relieve poverty in Addison County (see related article on poverty initiatives), and part of the VISTA’s responsibility is to serve as a liaison between these organizations and the ACE office.
AmeriCorps is often described as a domestic Peace Corps, and it offers many programs in addition to the VISTA program. While AmeriCorps VISTA concentrates on poverty alleviation, additional branches of AmeriCorps cover many other pressing issues, connecting more than 70,000 Americans each year in “intensive service to meet our country’s critical needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment.” Matt says that “although you work with an agency or an organization [such as ACE] on a day-to-day basis during the term of your service, you are officially working for the country as a whole.”
AmeriCorps VISTA participants join this service initiative for many different reasons and from many different places. Before becoming a VISTA, Matt was a practicing lawyer in Washington, D.C. When asked about his reasons for getting involved in the VISTA program, Matt responded, “The idea of service to others and to the country was appealing.” He also said that the opportunity to “work with students, work with faculty, and be an active member of the community” attracted him to Middlebury. He has been with the ACE office since August 2006 and has played a critical role in many projects. In return, he says, he’s gained a lot from this “life-changing year,” that will make him “a more active participant in any community.” As Matt finishes his year as a VISTA at Middlebury, he would like to encourage students to become civically engaged and remind them that “you’re not on your own. There are so many programs and organizations and agencies whose sole purpose for being there is to help you to become involved in ways that you want to get involved—so use them. You should not feel that you have to be an expert on anything to get started, and no one will expect you to be. You have to start somewhere. Second, once you get started, I’d say stick with it for a while. Chances are, something about your experience, whether it’s service, or activism, or working in an office, or on a campaign, may not be exactly what you envisioned it would be. But that shouldn’t necessarily discourage you—by committing to something for long enough to gain a deeper understanding of it, you’ll be well prepared to take your next step in terms of civic engagement, no matter where that step may lead.” And a final piece of Matt’s advice? Go to a contra dance, it’s a “Vermont tradition … and a really great way to meet people and have fun.”
The ACE office is grateful for all the work that Matt has done in the past year and all the people he has touched with his work. We’re delighted that Matt’s positive and unique experience in higher education led him to apply for the position of dean of Cook Commons. We couldn’t be more pleased that he will continue as a colleague. We look forward to working closely with him in his new capacity. And in more VISTA news, Ashley Calkins ’06 will be our new AmeriCorps VISTA, beginning her year of service with us in late August. Ashley is a former ACE student staff member, and we are thrilled to have her back after a year of working with the Stanley Foundation in Iowa. Ashley will be working with students on advancing their work on social and economic justice issues. Good luck, Matt, and welcome, Ashley.