University of Portland

"Memoirs of a VISTA "

Written by Laura Goble, ORCC AmeriCorps* VISTA

To a majority of the general population, the word vista evokes images of wide, inspiring landscape views, mountains, ocean overlooks, and autumn ravines. For those in the know about Americorps* VISTA (Volunteers in Service To America), "VISTA" is an unrelated acronym, but strangely reflective of the mainstream definition.

One of the things I enjoy most about being a VISTA is the wide view it gives me of poverty issues, people struggling with poverty, agencies and individuals alleviating poverty, even barriers to overcoming ignorance and apathy related to poverty. 

In the Moreau Center at the University of Portland (UP), where my role as a VISTA has taken me, I daily get to encounter pieces of that complex view. Each colleague, student, community partner, neighborhood resident, event, and program casts it in a different light. Each encounter reveals a different perspective, a different detail, a different wonder that inspires deeper understanding and more informed action.

A recent trip to Alaska perfectly reflects the metaphor of this VISTA/vista intersection. I was traveling with 14 UP students for an alternative Spring Break trip we called the Native American Plunge. The purpose of our trip was to help students understand the history and culture of Native Alaskan people and to examine how contemporary social issues and injustices are related. 

Alaska literally holds some of the most wondrous views in the United States. I remember as we turned a bend toward Mendenhall Glacier, the buzz of nonchalant conversation was suddenly halted with an in-unison “Wow!”

We were just as moved watching a teenaged boy step into a traditional dance for his uncle when the elder become winded. I also remember being moved to silence as we heard about the systematic deculturation of Alaska Natives and the astonishingly high rates of poverty, alcoholism, and domestic violence effecting tribal communities today.

I wept one night listening to a Tlingit woman describe how her teenage son was spit on and called “native dog” by a peer.  Among such beauty was also mess and ugliness. We did not shade our eyes from either.

My task as a VISTA is not to increase the number people volunteering at soup kitchens, clinics, shelters or programs, but rather to increase the number of people willing to test their notions of what poverty is, who the poor are, and why.

I want students to move beyond appreciation for their access to education to understanding who doesn’t have access and why, and even more so to advocate for those who do not have such access.

I want students to meet people who work three jobs and have to choose which bill they can’t pay: health care, food, or rent.  I want students to learn that racism and classism isn’t just related to individual attitudes, but to structures that they have the power to influence.

I want professors to catch a vision that one moment spent in service to, and in relationship with those in poverty can be an exponentially more powerful teaching tool than hours of reading or lecturing.

I want community agencies to sense solidarity with academia. I want people to step back, examine the wide view and understand how their daily life and decisions intersect.

I hope that each endeavor gives me another glimpse of the VISTA vista and another opportunity to experience the view with others.

Do you want your campus service program or event to be featured in the next ORCC Campus Spotlight?

Contact Cynthia Harrison at cynthiah@pdx.edu