Once in JAG, always a part of JAG. We were happy to welcome Deirdre Conroy into our JAG family in 2020 as Event Planner VISTA for our programs team. We were even more grateful when they stayed on for another year to serve as VISTA Leader.
Conroy joined JAG after learning about our unique curriculum approach with students and community members around trauma-informed care, project-based learning, and employer engagement. They had studied wildlife conservation during their undergraduate years and was looking for a transition into social work.
"AmeriCorps has offered me the opportunity for a career transition. For a lot of reasons I wanted to transition into social work and VISTA service was the best option to do that, especially when I landed with an organization like JAG," Conroy said. "JAG's flexibility with doing remote work has been so helpful for the past two years."
In their role as Event Planner VISTA, they focused on building out the new volunteer orientations (NVOs), helped plan the Career Development Conference (CDC), and worked with the Director of Marketing and Communications to create virtual workshops.
As VISTA Leader for the 2021-2022 AmeriCorps VISTA cohort at JAG, they recruited and onboarded VISTA members, facilitated group professional development and team bonding meetings, as well as individual check-ins with each VISTA member.
A highlight, among many, from their service was the Queer Chats workshop series they created for coordinators to learn more about how to support their LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults. The workshop covered language awareness, micro aggressions, history of queerness on this continent, political history, and media representation.
When reflecting upon what they'll miss most about working with JAG, it was hard to limit it to just one thing.
"Oh there's a lot! The team definitely," they said. "Definitely the workplace and that everybody in the office is very authentic and kind. They so clearly have the best interest of youth in mind. It really feels like a community – the whole JAG network. I'll miss the people."
Conroy will be entering their second year for clinical mental health counseling in the fall. They plan on becoming a licensed therapist and counselor after they finish their program. As of now, they are building off of their work in JAG at University of Washington as a facilitator for a program that fosters community between high school students and older adults.
We are excited to follow their career journey as they continue bringing their passion for positive action and community everywhere they go.
Interested in joining the JAG family and making a positive difference statewide? Stay up-to-date on job opportunities HERE
(602) 216-9503 I info@jagaz.org