Illinois State University Stevenson Center Illinois State University Stevenson Center

This is a podcast recorded by Applied Economic and Community Development Fellow Ward Westray, who is in the second year of his Stevenson Center fellowship. In the podcast, Ward speaks about his general background and what led him to join the Stevenson Center at Illinois State, including his two respective AmeriCorps experiences and why they were so instrumental in making service to others the central tenet of his career.

Hello lovely listeners! Welcome to our Stevenson Center Podcast; “A Gaggle of Gals.” In this episode, Hannah Gdalman (Peace Corps Fellow, Sociology), Isabella Green (ACED Fellow, Sociology), and Rose Commins (ACED Fellow, Kinesiology and Recreation) discuss their past service experiences with AmeriCorps and Peace Corps, reflect on the first year of grad school madness, share thesis progress, and talk about their current professional placements, exploring the ways they have implemented their ISU coursework into their new positions. The gals provide a glimpse into the lives of Stevenson Center students as they discuss their academic (classes, professors, and projects) and social (cohort support, life in Bloomington-Normal) lives during grad school. Listen to find out more about the unique perspectives these gals bring, and hear what they have to say about their experiences as Stevenson Center Fellows!

Casey joined the Stevenson Center's Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows Program from California. In this podcast he discusses his experiences with Peace Corps Ukraine, adjusting to graduate classes, life in Bloomington-Normal, and his professional practice with the McLean County Regional Planning Commission in Bloomington, IL, where he researches a variety of planning and transportation topics.

This podcast features Orsolya Ficsor, a graduate fellow for the Stevenson Center's Applied Community and Economic Development Fellows Program. Orsolya talks about her year of service in City Year Dallas and how it brought her to ISU, her studies in Anthropology, and her work at the East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging. Orsolya shares how her service in City Year inspired her research interests, what life is like in Bloomington-Normal, and some advice for prospective students.

Listen as Joel and Ryan share about their experience as ACED fellows and discuss what they have learned about organizational culture after working in the nonprofit sector and while studying at Illinois State University and the Stevenson Center.Music from https://filmmusic.io"Cheery Monday" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Stevenson Center Fellows Ana Fochesatto and Jordan Norton have been working in youth development organizations for their 11-month fellowships to complete their Master's in Community and Economic Development. Listen to learn more about their experience!