2004 Young Alumni Award

Carie’s freshman year at St. Norbert College, during which she became involved in service projects and met older peers who were deeply engaged in the community, inspired her to “make a commitment to give back and volunteer” after graduating. Since then, Carie has served two years with the Corporation for National and Community Service, earned a masters degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Michigan and now finds herself in a career that brings together her interest in education, her love of working with college students and service to her community.

Carie is currently Director of Wisconsin Campus Compact’s AmeriCorps* VISTA Service Learning Project. In this role, she recruits and supports 35 VISTA members throughout Wisconsin and provides outreach to Wisconsin K-12, post-secondary and community organization students, faculty and staff in helping them to promote and develop service-learning and civic engagement activities.

After graduating from St. Norbert, Carie had been an AmeriCorps*Habitat for Humanity Volunteer in Georgia where she not only helped homeowners and their families in the construction of homes, but coordinated service and development opportunities for AmeriCorps members; scheduled homeowner visits, assisted with workshops and planned various educational programs. In Carie’s second year of AmeriCorps, she served in Boston, MA, as one of 20 Americorps National Leaders. In addition to numerous hours serving second-grade students in Boston schools, she initiated, planned and facilitated 320 hours of educational and skill-based training for AmeriCorps and VISTA members, as well as co-created the “Life After Americorps” training manual.

While in graduate school at the University of Michigan, Carie was involved with the Community Development Task Force, served as a Project Serve graduate assistant at the Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning and was a graduate assistant for the Kellogg Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good.

A commitment to serving others all began at St. Norbert College when, in her freshman year, Carie worked at Campus Ministry, then used her winter break to participate in Minneapolis Urban Plunge – one of “many experiences at SNC that changed my life.” She was a Resident Assistant for two years, participated in many housing programs, was involved with the Women’s Center and the Student Government Association and volunteered on and off campus. In her senior year, she was Campus Events Coordinator for the office of Leadership, Service and Involvement (LSI), which lead to her involvement in Make a Difference Day, Alternative Spring Break trips and Student Leadership Awards.

Among the awards and recognition Carie has received are the Norbertine Leadership Award, “Advisor of the Year” at Florida State University and Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society.

Summing up her SNC experience, Carie says it had an “overwhelming impact on my choices in life...I am a more compassionate person, I surround myself with people who will help me grow and challenge myself and my choosing to go into Americorps was a direct connection with my service experiences at SNC.”