Diana Larson
Bio:
From: MinneSNOWtaGraduated from:St. Cloud State University
Degree: B.A. in Social Work
Diana applied for AmeriCorps the same day she had a 40,000 dollar job interview. Two jobs diverged in her life, and a s you can see, she too the road less traveled by and that has made all the difference (Robert Frost). She started with Communities in Schools at the end of April and is very excited for what she can bring to the table. She loves photography, a great game of mini golf, and awkward moments! Having never been to Arizona before this job, many awkward moments will be in her future.
Service
Having an extreme passion for kids and goofing around, Diana knows that she will fit in just fine at her position with Children First Academy in Phoenix. This soon to be K-8 (adding 7th and 8th grade in the Summer of 2009) has a wide variety of students from many different walks of life and does not have a district ‘technically’ because they will pick up their kids wherever they move to within a big vicinity of the Phoenix area! The kids are almost always smiling and the staff is wonderful! This will be a great year!
Impact Story
Driving in the school van can be great when your personality meshes well with your co workers! I had my first week at Children First Academy and my experiences were eye opening. This Friday we had the opportunity to go and tour the shelters that about 80% of our families live in. We were able to tour two of them, Salvation Army and Overflow. To be completely honest, being a social work major never led me to the path of going into homeless shelters so today was a big first for me. To see how these families live, and yet see that most of them are so happy was an amazement to me. It’s beautiful to see some people living on so little, and yet being happier than many who are ‘well off’ (according to society). After seeing the shelters, my heart warmed knowing that I would be able to impact these families so much in the next year! Can’t wait!