MINNEAPOLIS, MN: WINONA HOUSE

Jennavie Castillo — So fighting for what I feel is right has always felt like my purpose. Being given the opportunity to demonstrate a personal skill in helping others has always been a thing for me. Being a part of something like LVC. Definitely shy away from my skills on my resume, being that I am a recent graduate from Wildland Firefighting in college, I’ve always been a hands on person. In my heart this is definitely the time to use my voice, being able to use my voice speaking up for people. Understanding what their needs are, and being able to let them know what needs to be taken to stand up or go about fixing certain outcomes.
What main principle I see in social justice is people being treated unfairly because of their lack of knowledge of one’s human rights. Giving that everyone deserves equal rights and opportunities. For me, the Main objective in social justice Should be to reduce discrimination of all types, examine people and target issues within our community or countries, and take positive action whether it be us as LVC gathering information to being a resourceful person and or demonstrating healthy protest or simply allowing the people to know donating to start a positive project to pass a certain movement. for example new laws that could lead us to greater opportunities and opening doors for our rights.

Felimon Vasquez Jimenez — Social justice I have perceived at my service of volunteering preschool site detailed mutual experience. In facilitating developmentally appropriate relationships and associations of learning, children proactively engaged their curiosities while I developed a resilient grace of giving against my perception of personal indebtedness to unrelated matters. As a facilitator I enjoy prompting questions to compel process of experimentation. My goals in life are to apply approaches learned during my time as an undergraduate towards challenges of development that insight autonomy. I hope that I demonstrate skils broader than my narrow direct perception..

Jacob Mier — I graduated from Vassar College in May of 2022 with a major in Women, Feminist, and Queer Studies alongside a minor in Native American Studies. I spent all four years as a member of the swim and dive team and also worked closely with our LGBTQ+ center and the Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance (NAISA). With the LGBTQ+ center I served as president of AroAce Space my senior year and additionally helped plan Vassar’s first month of Pride celebrations in April of 2022.

WASHINGTON, DC: BONHOEFFER HOUSE

Andrea Corrigan — Hello! My name is Andrea, and I recently graduated from University of California Santa Cruz with a B.A. in Intensive Psychology and Legal Studies. During my final year of undergrad, my passion for social justice grew after learning about the lack of opportunity equity for the undocumented population, specifically in areas involving healthcare and legal advocacy. My internship at a Medical Assisted Treatment substance abuse clinic exposed me to various concepts centered around the importance of alleviating stigma within healthcare settings, as well as the policy side of healthcare that frequently excludes minority populations. In order for there to be more representation for the undocumented population, there needs to be advocacy for the way these individuals are discussed at a national level, along with revisitation of our current immigration policies. During my service year, I desire to advocate for this community by participating in various outreach events, whilst enriching my knowledge about the subject. My career passions lie within behavioral health, and one day I hope to become a LCSW that way I can provide assistance to individuals who need behavioral and emotional support, due to various social scenarios (e.g substance abuse disorder, foster care, domestic violence, incarceration). Overall, I’m very excited to begin my service year in Washington D.C!

Catherine Edmonson — I enjoy meeting and working with people from various backgrounds to learn and develop solutions to address the issues at hand. Social justice service has been an integral part of my life. I have served as a guide and tutor for refugee families and been an advocate for racial justice at my educational institutions. Most recently, I have served as a caregiver for a woman with cerebral palsy.

Juliana Schifferes — Juliana Schifferes takes a keen interest in social justice. She utilizes her political science training to tackle pressing issues, from environmental health, disability justice, political accountability to feminist practice. She is a quick learner with a taste for persuasion, people-centered community outreach plus crafting informative and succinct writing. The highlights of her work include community outreach in a tree planting program (assisting in the distribution of up to 450 trees in one year) at the Global Health and Education Projects. She also contributed to work in politics as a handmaiden for political participation for people with disabilities as a “proxy caller” at the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network and supported advocacy for gender equity in politics at RepresentWomen. A close student of resistance thinkers and poets alike, you can find her during free time engrossed in contemporary and modern poetry, often with her cat in tow.

Jeffrey Carey — I’m Jeffrey Carey (he/him/his), and this is my second year with LVC. I graduated from St. Mary’s College of Maryland with a B.A. in English and a minor in Religious Studies. As such, the four great loves of my life are stories, nature, people and God. I followed those passions into 4 AmeriCorps service terms, followed by LVC. This fall I am joining the Fall cohort of the DC Synod to determine if Lutheran Seminary is my calling. I had a great time with my placement and my housemates, so I look forward to what this year has in store!

Lisa Thompson — I am a second-year volunteer with L’Arche. I have been most happy there. I am grateful to be doing a second year. Anyone could become disabled at any given time. People deserve care even if they are disabled. Some countries even ignore them. I am glad to be in country where this does not have to be the case. I am active with their mission statement and interact with the core members in a genuine manner. It is my long-term goal to be with the company for as long as I can.

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Ana Richie — Ana is a vivacious graduate of The University of Texas at San Antonio with a Bachelors of Arts in Sociology and a minor in African American Studies. Ana enjoys volunteering with local non profits in her hometown of Austin Texas when she’s not doing film photography or swimming. Ana is currently pursing a Masters of Public Administration through the College of Health, Community and Policy (HCAP) at the University of Texas at San Antonio and enjoys learning about strategic non-profit management and economic development. Ana hopes to continue impacting her community and doing her part to better society through her new position with LVC.