Thank You, AmeriCorps VISTA

Clarissa grew up in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles, a community of various towns—hers being Monterey Park. She attended Brightwood Elementary School, right down the hill from her home. It was followed by attendance at Mark Keppel High School. The big move was attending college at UC Davis, majoring in Communications, with a minor in Textiles and Clothing.

This precipitated a conversation about her long-time interest in fashion, but wanting a broader academic grounding and overall college experience. When talking about her childhood passions, she said she was a voracious reader as a kid, which really piqued my interest! Of course, I had to ask what her favorite book was growing up. It was The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Her reading habits have changed as she has gotten older, from fiction to educational, in order to learn more about subjects of interest while still enjoying the leisure reads every once in a while.

After college, she briefly moved back home. Her first job was working in finance and accounting at an international law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Keep in mind, this was right at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and working at home became normal. After about a year or so, the lure of the fashion industry captured her professional curiosity.

She took on the role of intern at a fashion public relations firm called Dietch PR. The word “intern” always means no money, but a way to learn about your field of interest. By her own admission, it was a leap of faith. COVID-19 was still alive and well and masks were part of the fashion statement at the office. 

We then had another great conversation about how her values were changing as she got older. Remember, we are talking about several years out of college. Entering the world of commerce is its own education and you can begin to make much more informed choices about where your interests lay. Concepts became reality and the fashion industry not only lost its allure, but it was replaced.

Clarissa worked at Amazon for three years. It is interesting to follow its progression and how it ultimately ended up bringing her here. She started as an area manager in what’s called their “sort center,” a warehouse overseeing the flow of product, etc. She later became a site community ambassador, working with local non-profits and overseeing the distribution of grants within the community.

She then turned her professional attention toward environmental issues and the promotion of healthy lifestyles. At the time, her preference was to return to school to for a master’s degree in public policy to address critical issues on a global basis. By her own admission, her background to that point was missing some pieces that would be important for her to be viewed as a qualified candidate.

Looking online, the Peace Corps was first to pop up, which wasn’t quite what she was looking for. AmeriCorps, its domestic equivalent that does community-based work, became her focus. Applying required writing several essays about why she wanted to serve and providing some examples of community-based work she had done in the past.

This whole process began in January 2024, which reminded me that all of this is very new for Clarissa. Being focused on environmental policy and and having family ties as well as an attraction to Hawaii, Clarissa cast her net and found a position at OED. She applied and received an offer after a Zoom interview with Ana, Christina, Niki, and Nate.

We discussed the mechanics of how the AmeriCorps VISTA program works—in terms of relocation and other subsidies—which I will spare you. What I do want to say is that several people within the department have participated in this program. If you would like to learn more about AmeriCorps VISTA, you can contact Clarissa at chsi@kauai.gov.

Her official title in the department is Climate Communications VISTA. She works most closely with Ana Española, who specializes in sustainability issues. She is working with Ana on the Youth Climate Class Program, which you can read about in Ana’s story.

Going forward, it looks like she is going to pursue a master’s degree in Environmental/International Studies. It was interesting to hear that concurrent with her academic future is the concept of finding a home to take root in, which she called geographic happiness—a tribute to her introspective nature. It was truly my pleasure to speak with such a wonderfully honest and sincere person. This young lady is really going to make a difference.