Bio for Heather Stewart

I recently graduated from Marietta College where I studied advertising and public relations while interning at a local non-profit called The Betsey Mills Club. As a Ohio Campus Compact Summer Associate VISTA I continue to gain experience working in a non-profit environment. I hope to hold another VISTA position as a campus guide at the local community college this fall before searching for a permanent job in Columbus working for either a non-profit agency or with an event planner. Outside of the workplace I enjoy reading, biking, running, fires and camping with my friends and family.

Bio for Shannon Corlett

My name is Shannon Corlett and I am a rising junior at Case Western Reserve University. I am currently studying nutrition and plan to attend med school after completing my undergraduate. This photo was taken during my first week as a VISTA while I worked on a fun project that involved mixing dirt for potting seedlings at the Case Farm. I am also working with the Cleveland crops program to improve urban gardening in the area and can't wait to see how exciting and challenging the rest of the summer will be.

Bio for Sydney Maltese

Sydney Maltese is currently a Sophomore at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio, studying Organizational Communication/Public Relations and minoring in Leadership Studies.  Outside of classes, Sydney participates in choir, theater, and Greek life.  Originally hailing from Canton, Ohio, Sydney was a graduate of Canton Central Catholic High School.

Bio for Melissa Bresnahan

My name is Melissa Bresnahan. I am from Cleveland, Ohio and am going to be a third year student this upcoming year at John Carroll University. This summer, I will be working in an OCC VISTA position at John Carroll. My duties will include, but not be limited to: working in John Carroll’s Community Garden, delivering and serving food to the Heights Emergency food center, and organizing/coordinating other gardens in my community. I believe very strongly in promoting social justice for the poor, and have a very strong interest in mental disorders and the way they affect poverty. Since this is my first time dealing directly with hunger issues, I am really looking forward to all of the things I can learn from this experience.  I hope to expand the knowledge that I have on food security in the United States, and most especially within my schools community.

Some of my Goals include:

-        Learning more about community gardens and their effect on communities

-        Finding out more about food insecurity and security efforts in both my school and home neighborhoods

-        Reflecting upon what kind of things can be implemented both structurally and locally to improve food insecurity problems

-        Taking any courses of action available to me that may make a difference for this issue

Bio for Dominique Hughes

Community service, which has been an influential part of my college experience,

has contributed to my passion to serve at the Lorain County Urban League as an AmeriCorps VISTA for Ohio Campus Compact this summer.  While attending Oberlin College, I served as a Bonner Scholar.  The Bonner Scholars Program provides students who have demonstrated outstanding community service with the financial support needed to attend college and continue to be involved in the community.  In three years, I was able to work as an activities facilitator, youth summer camp counselor, and an administrative assistant all of which have contributed to my decision to attend the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University next fall. As an activities facilitator in the creative arts department at Kendal at Oberlin (a residential retirement center), it was my responsibility to encourage residents to engage in intellectually stimulating exercises.   These included news currents, Uno, trivia and crossword puzzles, which were all beneficial to residents who were undergoing mental changes.  I also helped residents cope with their transition from independent to assisted living.  My sophomore summer I coordinated and taught age appropriate curriculum to support the intellectual growth of 25 2^nd and 3^rd grade students at Save Our Children (an afterschool and summer development agency providing intellectual and social enrichment opportunities to at-risk children and youth who reside in South Elyria).  My last two years at Oberlin College I had the pleasure of assisting in organizing Zion Community Development Corporation’s (Zion CDC) Community Garden.  I helped initiate seasons by informing local gardeners and helping them complete their garden agreements.  I have also enjoyed hands on experiences through preparing garden plots and laying woodchips.  As with Zion CDC, it is my hope that through my position at the Lorain County Urban League more Lorain County residents, specifically youth can reap the benefits of fresh and healthy foods.  Over the next 8 weeks, I will be organizing over 58 hours of service learning activities for 6^th – 8^th grade and upcoming 9^th grade students in Project Ready.  Project Ready is an early college access program for middle school students.  Youth will engage in a mix of formal instruction, service activities and reflection concerning how food access, job creation and preparation for the workforce relate to each other.  I am ecstatic to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA this summer, and I look forward to helping youth academically, socially and culturally mature as they become knowledgeable about food security.

Bio for Rick Samu

My name is Richard Marton Samu, and I was born March 2, 1991 to Attila and Jaccie Samu in Salem, Ohio. I attended Salem High School, where I participated in a variety of extra-curriculars, serving leadership roles in several. Among these were varsity soccer (co-captain), academic challenge (co-captain), varsity track, National Honor Society, and band (percussion section leader). I graduated second out of my class of 148 with a GPA of 4.67 in 2009.

A Cincinnatus and Choose Ohio First scholar, I attended the University of Cincinnati, where I planned on majoring in Astrophysics. After a year of hating all things calculus related, I changed majors and got into the Zoology program. During my past two years here I've been involved in various service organizations on campus, such as the University Honors Association; ZooMates, a mentoring program through both UC and the Cincinnati Zoo; the Adaptive Ski Program at Perfect North slopes; and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, Ohio Theta chapter.

I have a sister, Jocelynne, who also intends to attend the University of Cincinnati for Zoology when she graduates next year, two cats, a dog and a rabbit. In my free time, I enjoy playing soccer, dodgeball, ultimate frisbee, and the drums.

After graduation, I hope to continue my studies in order to obtain my Master's degree in Zoological Sciences.

Bio for Catherine Distelrath

I just finished my junior year at John Carroll University, and I am double majoring in Psychology and Sociology.  After I graduate next year, I plan to either do a year of service or go straight to graduate school to get master’s degrees in social work and public health.  I am very excited about this eight week opportunity to help better my community and learn as much as possible about food security issues in Cleveland and the surrounding area.  

Goals for the summer:

1.      Coordinate and oversee volunteers for the current John Carroll University community garden and make sure it remains in good shape throughout the summer so we may yield as much produce as possible for the Heights Emergency Food Center.

2.      Take initial steps to increase the number of community gardens in the city of Cleveland.  This will include communicating with peopple in the city and the surrounding areas who already have community gardens, or who have the potential land to support a community garden, to explore what needs to be done in order to either expand existing gardens or develop new gardens.  It will also include developing a plan for where various gardens can be placed throughout the city and which community members will be willing and able to care for the gardens.

3.     Research which schools within the Cleveland Metropolitan School District currently have gardens on site and which schools have the potential land to develop a garden.  Placing more community gardens on school sites will allow students access to healthier lunches every day.

Bio for Grant Thompson

Grant has received Bachelors degrees from Ohio University in Education in 2010 and Political Science in 2011. Witnessing first-hand how the unsustainable business practices of long since gone coal companies in Southeast Ohio have drastically affected the area; as well as his experiences in rural, poorly funded school districts in low socioeconomic communities during his undergraduate studies have influenced him to pursue a career in the non-profit sector helping to increase social, economic, and environmental sustainability. In his free time Grant is usually either gardening, playing ultimate frisbee, hiking with his dog Mugsy, or disappearing into the woods on a backpacking trip.



Grant will be primarily working to further develop a children’s gardening program at Lorain County Community College’s Children’s Learning Center. Doing so will involve improving and managing the existing gardens, working with teachers to develop garden-centered lessons, as well as giving children hands on experience working in the gardens. The ultimate goal is to introduce the idea of gardens as a healthy, inexpensive, and personal source of food to children at a very young age as a long term means of improving food security in the area.