Alice went to Marathon House, a two-year residential program in Providence, R.I., designed to help first-time substance abuse offenders learn how to stay free of controlled substances. It was then Alice became part of my life as my closest colleague.

Through her experience at Marathon House, Alice gained self-esteem, returned to school, and earned her high school equivalency diploma. By the time I arrived there as a VISTA volunteer, she worked part-time in the Marathon House central office. My time at Marathon House exposed me to many experiences and individuals that had not been a part of my life. And although Alice did not have the educational background that I was fortunate to obtain through college, she taught me quite a bit about living through difficult times, fighting for a better life, and struggling to make ends meet while supporting a small child as a single parent.

I was extremely fortunate to be able to work with a bright, energetic, idealistic, and optimistic group of people who believed in the potential of every human being and worked to ensure that those brave enough to stick to the program were given a second lease on life. The Marathon House program was rigorous— individuals had to work or go to school, attend a number of therapy sessions each week, stay drug-free, commit to changing their destructive behaviors, try to rebuild relationships with family, and plan for life after they graduated from the program. More importantly, if they failed the program, they went to jail.

My one-year assignment at Marathon House opened my eyes. The experience made me realize that I really could “make a difference.” Through my VISTA appointment as a research assistant, I developed an Employee Assistance Program to help coach employees of the greater Providence area who either had a substance abuse problem or had a relative with this problem. The program provided counseling services, confidential assessments and referrals to community providers, in addition to a supportive environment. I also succeeded in evaluating the benefit of the program by developing and conducting a mail survey with program participants, both drop outs and graduates.

Respondents were one of two types of individuals— dropouts who disliked the program and did not graduate (and were happy to tell us their stories about that!) or graduates who went on to lead healthy, productive lives.

Although I was able to help Marathon House evaluate its program, I had a long way to go before I could provide the agency with a rigorous assessment of the program’s strengths and weaknesses. Without additional training, I could only provide Marathon House and other non-profit agencies with information that would partially help improve their programs. So I went to graduate school at Duke University and earned a master’s degree in Health Administration and a doctorate in Health Policy and Administration.

I learned how to balance a budget, deal with personnel issues, handle complex financial matters, evaluate the supply/demand for services, delve into health law, and learn how to plan and develop new health programs. I also learned that I did not want to work in a for-profit health care setting given my values, my VISTA experience at Marathon House, and the tremendous satisfaction that I obtained from helping people during a difficult time in their lives.

After my years at Duke, I continued to work in the health field. I held several positions at a non-profit health maintenance organization, and now I’m a senior researcher at RTI International, where I have become fascinated with the role and importance of volunteering in later life.

During the past five years, I have evaluated many programs funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service, including the Senior Companion Program and the Experience Corps for Independent Living Initiative. In addition, I have analyzed data from AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (AmeriCorps*NCCC) members. It was very interesting to compare my reasons for joining VISTA in 1982 with those of volunteers who joined the AmeriCorps program in 2000.

It was a pleasure and a delight to work with the Corporation—the very same agency (under its early aegis of ACTION) that helped me grow up and determine my life’s work. In the years to come, I will continue to use my skills and training from both my schooling and my empowering experience as a VISTA volunteer to help serve others, to assess the impact of community-based programs on the health and well-being of volunteers, clients, and communities being served, and to encourage others to serve in a similar way.

My first year out of college as a VISTA volunteer helped shape who I am as an adult. VISTA helped me recognize that I wanted to focus my life on serving others and gave me the confidence to pursue a career in community-based evaluation research, a path that has been rewarding, extremely satisfying, and especially meaningful for me, and, I believe, to others.

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