National Student Partnerships

Baltimore
Carrie Hutnick, Site Coordinator / AmeriCorps*National Direct

A native of Herndon, VA, Carrie Hutnick is the Site Coordinator for NSP-Baltimore. Carrie found her love for service early on, majoring in Public and Community Service at Providence College’s renowned Feinstein Institute of Public Service. Carrie is a strong supporter of NSP’s ability to increase efficiency in the social services system while enabling college students to gain a greater awareness of the world around them and become active participants in the community in which they live. "The gain is great for the community member who receives resources and makes steps towards self-sufficiency, but the student volunteer will take with them a sense of social responsibility for the rest of their lives, whether in the public service sector or otherwise."

"I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you
know your next door neighbor?"
Mother Teresa

Kimbrick Knox, Site Coordinator / AmeriCorps*National Direct

Kimbrick Knox first joined NSP as a Summer Director in ’07 and became a Site Coordinator in Baltimore this past October. Kimbrick is currently taking night courses at Howard Community College and hopes to apply to the Forensic Chemistry program at Towsen University in the very near future. The Baltimore native says: “I joined NSP because I recognize that the knowledge of resources is different from having the knowledge and ability to access the proper resources; I know first-hand the struggles the members of our low-income communities face and I want to be apart of building the bridge between the two. I believe NSP is a valuable part of our communities not just for clients, but for students as well. NSP gives students the opportunity to experience a part of their college community that they may not otherwise see; these students develop a more accurate view of our society and become better members because of it.”

“The road to success is always under construction. You’ll encounter potholes, detours, and delays, but you must keep your eye on the goal and keep moving forward.”
Ed Temple

Bronx
Jeff Holzberg, Site Coordinator / AmeriCorps*National Direct

After graduating from Tufts University in 2007 with a BS in Chemistry, NSP-Somerville volunteer Jeff Holzberg deferred his plans to attend medical school to head up NSP-Bronx as a Site Coordinator. The Atlanta-native says, "NSP is so much more than a service center. NSP means so much to our clients. It’s more than just a place where someone obtains housing and employment services. NSP is their place of refuge when they don’t know where to go or who to ask for help. We are their community."

"True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring."
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Cambridge
Jesse McCree, Site Coordinator / AmeriCorps*National Direct

Returning NSP-Cambridge Site Coordinator Jesse McCree graduated with Highest Honors from Bowdoin College in 2006 with a double-major in Africana Studies and Government and Law. Jesse says of his experience, "NSP gave me the opportunity to serve in a capacity that I had never known existed before. No longer was I locked within an isolated world of vague idealism stemming from academic privilege: I was able to work one-to-one with the population I had studied for four years. Yet those skills I learned at college, the critical thinking, the problem -solving, the analytical mind-set, have allowed me to serve that under-privileged population even more effectively. NSP’s model is an ingenious blend of micro and macro level advocacy - and we are aware that change will happen when you have young leaders who are able to see, and effectively deliver, both of those services."

"...love thy neighbor as thyself."
Leviticus 19:18

Jeanine Cerundolo, Site Coordinator / AmeriCorps*National Direct

Born and raised in Arlington, MA, Jeanine graduated from Tufts University in 2007 with a degree in English. She was drawn to NSP because of the way it empowered university students to engage with people in need: "I chose to serve with NSP because of its mission to link young people with those in need. The concept resonated with my own vision of what service at the college-level should look like. At NSP, students get first-hand experience connecting to a diverse population of people with whom they might not otherwise interact. Our work here encompasses so many exciting aspects of non-profit work: varying from direct client service, to volunteer training and management, to building community partnerships. As a recent college grad, there is nothing else I could imagine doing that would be as fulfilling as working for NSP."

"Only a life lived for others is worth living."
Albert Einstein

Chicago
David R. McNelly, Site Coordinator / AmeriCorps*National Direct

NSP-Chicago Site Coordinator David McNelly graduated from Miami University of Ohio with a BA in Creative Writing and English Literature in 2005. David believes that NSP is vital to the communities it serves primarily because of the uniqueness of its direct service model, which focuses on community-based solutions. "NSP is a gateway for people in a community to connect with available resources," David says. "When our clients and volunteers become invested because of the relationships they form here, we’re able to facilitate partnerships and connections that benefits everyone involved and reach our goal of creating a healthier community."

"Great are the myths - I too delight in them./ Great is Liberty!
Great is Equality! I am their follower"
Walt Whitman

Evanston
Sarah Shubitowski, Site Coordinator / AmeriCorps*National Direct

NSP-Evanston Site Coordinator Sarah Shubitowski is a 2006 graduate of Calvin College, where she double-majored in Spanish and Education. She believes that NSP is important to the people it serves because of "the volunteers’ commitment to use research and existing resources to serve clients to the best of their ability." Sarah adds, "Clients know that when they come to NSP there will be someone there that will not only listen to them, but also walk with them to overcome the barriers they face, be it heaps of paperwork or a language barrier that is making it difficult for them to move forward."

"Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work."
Mother Teresa

New Haven
Jon Jenusaitis, Site Coordinator / Americorps*National Direct

Jon Jenusaitis is a 2006 graduate of the University of Vermont, where he majored in English and minored in Religion. Jon is excited to serve with NSP and hopefully have a positive impact within the New Haven community. Jon says “NSP is a great opportunity to learn about the large network of social services that exist in communities (both where they begin and where they end). It also provides grounds to meet so many different people in so many different situations, to have important and positive effects on their lives, and in return, to be effected by them. The term partnerships cannot be stressed enough.”

"A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle."
Kahlil Gibran

North Philadelphia
Alex Shaw, Site Coordinator / AmeriCorps*National Direct

Born and raised in Eastern Pennsylvania, veteran NSP-North Philadelphia Site Coordinator Alex Shaw is a 2006 graduate of Colorado College, where she majored in Political Science and minored in Latin American Studies. Alex is a second year Site Coordinator for the North Philadelphia office. Alex is excited to serve with NSP again because of her deep, abiding belief that the NSP-North Philadelphia office "has an incredible potential for providing crucial advocacy and individualized, hands-on service in the area."

"Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul."
Edward Abbey

West Philadelphia
Shawn Benham, Site Coordinator / AmeriCorps*National Direct

NSP-West Philadelphia Site Coordinator and Vermonter Shawn Benham attended Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island, where he majored in Business Administration and minored in Sociology. Shawn chose to serve with NSP because "It was the perfect balance between my interest in social issues/public policy and my background in business and marketing." Shawn is interested in pursuing a career in urban policy and planning in the future.

"Our ways of handling power differences and diverse points of view and cultures should be models of the civic life we wish to engender in our communities. Encouraging the articulation of differences, and then finding areas for collaboration, should be the norm rather than the exception."
Z.F. Gamson

Paul Vande Stouwe, Site Coordinator / AmeriCorps*National Direct

A native of South Carolina, Paul graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts in History and English. As an NSP volunteer, Paul witnessed firsthand the unique role NSP plays in connecting its clients to resources they need and in fostering civic engagement in its volunteers. Paul says, "NSP spoke to me in a way that few other service organizations do. Our volunteers get a chance to gain firsthand knowledge of structural inequalities in urban communities while also making a significant impact on the lives of the residents of these neighborhoods."

"We carry a new world here, in our hearts. That world is growing this minute."
Buenaventura Durruti

Pittsburg
Colin White, Site Coordinator / AmeriCorps*National Direct

Born in Agana, Guam and raised in a variety of localities, Colin has been proud to call Pittsburgh his home for the past five years. He graduated from Duquesne University where he majored in Political Science with a minor in History. Colin then proceeded to earn his Paralegal Certificate before joining National Student Partnerships. It was the mission of NSP in providing community members access to the services, opportunities, and attention that they need which appealed to Colin. “NSP not only increases the self-sufficiency of fellow community members while enhancing the skill set of the student volunteers but also establishes relationships and strengthens communities.”

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.”
Dr. Seuss

Richmond
Pearl O’ Brien, Site Coordinator / AmeriCorps*National Direct

Pearl was born in St. Paul, MN, raised in Newton, MA, and studied Politics and Art at Earlham College in Richmond, IN. After living in Chicago for a couple of years, Pearl moved to Virginia, expressly for the purpose of heading up NSP’s Richmond office. She is determined to fight domestic poverty and finds NSP’s model critical to forming the next generation of social activists and engaged citizens. Pearl says, "NSP offers the opportunity for seemingly inexperienced, but committed, hardworking, and capable young people to gain invaluable experience creating real change in the lives of their neighbors."

"No individual has any right to come into the world and go out of it without leaving behind him distinct and legitimate reasons for having passed through it."
George Washington Carver

Somerville
Sarah Mengel, Site Coordinator / AmeriCorps*National Direct

After majoring in Religion and Asian Studies at Bates College, Sarah Mengel joined NSP-Somerville in 2006 as Site Coordinator and elected to return for a second year of service. Sarah believes that what sets NSP apart from other organizations is the compassion and belief in social change: "Our approach gives each person seeking help the chance to receive the support and respect that they need and deserve to pursue their goals. It sees clients as individuals who have the ability to change their lives and strengthen their community as a whole.

"Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
James 2:15-17 (NIV)

Washington, DC
Jordan Seltzer, Site Coordinator / AmeriCorps*National Direct

NSP-DC Site Coordinator Jordan Seltzer graduated from La Salle University with a BA in Human/Management Communication. A longtime NSP-Philadelphia volunteer, Jordan believes that NSP enables personal and professional growth for students and client alike. "It is mutually beneficial," Jordan says, "Student volunteers and clients are both afforded the opportunity to dispel any preconceived notions of each other and tend to forge a relationship that they will both remember for a lifetime. This is what makes NSP not only an incredible place to work, but a truly meaningful experience."

"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth."
Muhammad Ali

Lauren Libera, Site Coordinator / AmeriCorps*National Direct

NSP-DC Site Coordinator Lauren Libera is a graduate of Georgetown University, where she majored in Psychology and Minored in Sociology. She chose to serve with NSP because she was inspired by NSP’s ability to "give both volunteers and clients an opportunity to bring their strengths and knowledge to the table." Lauren says, "NSP is important to the people it serves because it truly values the clients as individuals, something that is evident to all from the first moment they walk in the door."

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."
Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom