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| | | Alysha at Hope CommunityAlysha was a St. Joseph Worker in 2003-2004. During that time, she worked at Hope Community in Minneapolis. Here is an article that was written about her during her time at Hope.
Alysha has always been passionate about justice issues. She has always loved to dance. She knew she liked working with kids. But she didn’t realize until after beginning her placement this year at Hope Community that she also has a passion for working with people learning English. “When I started the SJW program, I was excited about working with the English program, but it wasn’t the thing that drew me to my placement at Hope. Now, surprisingly, tutoring English students has become my favorite part of my job here.” She likes that this English program allows her to work one on one with students, learning more about their stories and interests. Two if her English students have written short pieces that will be included in an upcoming publication of the Minnesota Literacy Council, something that Alysha counts as one of her greatest joys of the year so far.
It is the surprising opportunities of this kind that have challenged Alysha to learn and grow in her time at Hope. She receives plenty of challenges in other aspects of her job as well—such as working with the after school kids program, coordinating special events, and working with other community education programs.
One of Alysha’s co-workers says that Alysha has brought many skills with her to Hope, “She has basically started her own small business here knitting scarves for everyone in the office,” she jokes. More seriously, Alysha brings an ability to work well on many tasks at once. Her gift for working with others can be attested to by the children that often approach Kim after school, asking where they can find Alysha. On weekends that Alysha is unable to make it to English class, other tutors often have to field questions from nervous students, asking with concern if Alysha is sick and if she’ll be coming back soon.
Alysha also sees the CSJ charism alive at Hope Community in ways that challenge and inspire, “Building community through right relationship is definitely part of the Hope Community identity. It’s driven by a belief in human dignity.” This culture of strength and respect creates the capacity for real change. This is the kind of environment that Alysha is excited to be a part of—and that she’ll take with her to into what ever comes next. | |
