Fellow 2 Fellow: A Tulane VISTA at CPS

Hello! My name is Beau Braddock, and I will be serving as the Support Fellow for the Tulane Americorps VISTA Fellows this year. I recently graduated from Tulane in May, earning my BA in International Development and Political Science concentrating in International Relations. Even though I am passionate about international studies and the developing world, I am thrilled to be serving the resilient and vibrant city that has served not only myself but generations of my own family with enduring love and support.

Stationed out of the Tulane Center for Public Service in the Uptown area of New Orleans, I will be serving in a variety of capacities this year, built around a core of providing indirect service support and resources to the six other Tulane VISTA Fellows. My responsibilities include facilitating site-visits, evaluations, as well as Friday meetings, pushing and updating community information via social media sites, as well as assisting with the implementation of a collective community resource map.

Built around the core values of diversity, openness, integrity, courage, creativity, and excellence, the Tulane University Center for Public Service seeks to inspire civic engagement through impactful community-minded inquiry, learning, and service. In addition, the center strives to position community issues as an integral facet of university life, as well as empower constituents to engage differences and generate creative solutions for our most pressing social challenges.

Instilling a passion for community engagement and service within mostly eighteen to twenty-two year old American university students whom are mostly concerned with finding a post-graduate job and making good grades is no doubt a formidable task. Watching the faculty and staff here at Tulane thread the needle between non-stop community advocacy and catering to the needs and issues of a major university is quite fascinating, and I can only hope to witness and experience even more throughout this next year.

The summer is a unique time for the VISTA program, as it is when VISTAs both enter and exit the yearlong service commitment. I have had the distinct pleasure of getting to know some of these great individuals, but I sure wish I had more time to spend with them and pick their brains for advice in regards to the upcoming year.

Some of the Tulane VISTA team wishing Emily Kamin good luck after her VISTA year

I’ll be posting updates monthly for the next year, so stay tuned for more!!

About beaubraddock

Beau is currently serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA Fellow with the Tulane University Center for Public Service in New Orleans, Louisiana. He graduated in May of 2014 from Newcomb-Tulane College with a BA in International Relations and International Development, and previously worked in Haiti and India. Beau loves to draw, paint, back-pack, fly-fish, pretend he is good at photography, and travel. An adamant lover of indie films and all things edible, Beau once escaped a falling burning tree in a forest, even though no one else was there to hear it.

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