Val has gone above and beyond working with survivors of violence. She is able to multi-task in our shelter by supporting survivors in crisis over the phone as well as helping to support the environment of our emergency shelter program. Without volunteers like Val our shelter program would not be able to provide survivors needing confidential emergency shelter with such a smooth transition during such a time of pain. We appreciate everything that Val brings to our shelter team and we could not do all that we do without volunteers like her.
We asked Valerie a couple of questions to get to know her better. Read on to see what she had to say!
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I’m in the process now of applying to master’s programs in Genetic Counseling, so hopefully ten years from now I’ll be practicing in that field. I also want to still be climbing and living somewhere where outdoor recreation is really accessible.
Where is your favorite place in the world (you could have been there or want to be there)? I love travel, so this is a tricky question. I think my favorite place I’ve been so far is Iguazu Falls, on the border of Argentina and Brazil. It’s so beautiful there, and that was the first trip my sister and I took together as adults, so I have lots of fun memories there. If I could go anywhere new tomorrow, it’d probably be either South Africa, Patagonia, or Iceland.
What is your favorite sound? I think my favorite sound in the world is when you’re up high on a hike or climb, and it’s quiet where you are, but you can hear that the wind is really loud below you or in a nearby canyon. It makes the landscape feel big and permanent, regardless of what us humans are up to at that moment.
Why did you choose SPAN to volunteer? I chose to volunteer at SPAN for a lot of reasons, but mostly because nonviolence is a cause that I feel really personally drawn to. I wanted to help support clients as they rebuild their lives, to enable that process in whatever way I can. I think trying to build things in life can be really intimating and difficult, especially if someone is faced with a lot of obstacles, and being able to support someone as they move through that process is really rewarding.
If you were an animal, what would it be? I think I’d want to be some kind of monkey so I could swing through trees, or maybe a pronghorn so I could run and jump like an antelope. Either one sounds like fun!