Meeting Your Neighbor By Nikki Hawk, AmeriCorps VISTA
Ben Helkowski ’19 is the Lake Effect Leaders AmeriCorps VISTA Project Coordinator in the Civic Engagement Office of the Allegheny Gateway, and Jeniffer Gonzalez is the Bonner Program Coordinator in the Civic Engagement Office of the Allegheny Gateway. Both Ben and Jen started working in the Civic Engagement Office within the past year. In meeting them and working alongside them, I have been able to learn about their unique stories and experiences that shaped them into who they are today.
Who or what has led you to this career? Jeniffer Gonzalez-Reyes: I am a Bonner Scholar alumna that graduated from Guilford College. So I was one of the few students that were very involved in Bonner as a site coordinator, Bonner Congress Representative, Bonner Class Representative and other similar roles. I believe that James Shields, Director of Community Learning, was one of the major people that influenced me to be in my role here at Allegheny today. The way he was passionate about teaching
18 ENGAGED | Fall 2019
and guiding the younger generation was beautiful. I have always known I wanted to work with young adults and teens mainly because people claim they are a lot or too complicated to work with. I think there’s beauty in helping someone understand that there are way more opportunities out there even for a person like themselves but also keeping in mind to bring others along with them. Ben Helkowski: Sheer chance and luck have led me to this position. Upon applying to graduate school at Mercyhurst
University, I applied for a graduate assistantship position. Unfortunately, they did not have any positions available. Yet, Colin Hurley, the Director of Community Engagement, reached out to me about an AmeriCorps VISTA position at the university. Eager for work that would help me pay for graduate school, I accepted. As a VISTA member, I showed qualities that the director of our project, Gabrielle Bradshaw, was looking for, and here I am today.
