Congratulations to our November Volunteer of the Month – Mattie!
Mattie joined our volunteer team this summer and has already made a huge impact. She is currently volunteering in TWO roles: DART victim advocate and Crisis Line Volunteer. Mattie also helps out with tabling and events when she can. Mattie’s awareness, humor, and dedication to SPAN clients are inspiring! Keep reading to learn more about Mattie’s awesomeness.
- Tell me a little about your background – where you’re from, family, work/education experience, anything you’d like to share here, really. I’m a native Boulderite, having graduated from Fairview High School. I currently attend CU Boulder, expecting to graduate in May with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Classics. My parents are happily divorced, and I live with my Dad, our two dogs (Peaches the bull terrier and Nugget the pug), and our plethora of fish. I someday hope to be a counselor with an MSW, specializing in LGBTQIAP topics.
- What are your special hobbies or interests? I spend most of my days a) watching horrible television shows, b) writing novels, and c) playing the same video games over and over. I also enjoy walking my pug and playing board games with friends.
- What has been your favorite part of volunteering with SPAN? My favorite part of volunteering with SPAN is interacting with clients, and knowing I bring something to the table that could potentially help them end a cycle of abuse. It’s a very powerful experience interacting with individuals affected by domestic violence. I think my volunteer work has not only helped me build interpersonal skills, skills for dealing with crisis situations, but also helped me grow as person. Volunteering with SPAN has been so much more than work experience: it has really shaped the way I think about and approach the world.
- Why is social justice work important to you? Social justice is important to me because I have so much privilege, and that’s simply not fair. Systemic injustice makes it so everyone doesn’t have the same chance to succeed in life because of things we can’t choose like the color of our skin, who we love, or how we choose to express our gender. I think everyone needs to do their part to lessen the inequalities our society creates in a way that considers the intersectional nature of identities. Volunteering with SPAN is my way of doing that.
- Tell me a story about yourself, but only using SIX WORDS (no more, no less). At home, I am sleeping… ninja!
Thank you Mattie, for being you and all you do. We are so thrilled to have you on the SPAN team.