At Your Service: James Pavelka

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James Pavelka

Updated: March 1, 2012 8:03AM

Age: 5O

City: Hobart

Occupation: Tutor and mentor and food bank program manager for AmeriCorps/Porter County United Way; also adjunct professor at local colleges and universities in health sciences.

What are your job duties? “Assist staff and teachers in mentoring/tutoring students in math and reading to enable them to meet desirable and expected levels mandated by the state of Indiana. Food bank position entails upgrading efficiency at the bank run by the Salvation Army in the South Haven office.

What is Americorps? “It is like the Peace Corps, but work is done only in the United States. The organization is funded annually by the U.S. government. Participants take oaths of service for a one-year commitment. We have contracts that describe our responsibilities, and we can be called upon any time by the governor or president to serve, helping in a disaster situation, if necessary.”

What benefits does Americorps provide the community? “It fills in the need of agencies and schools that don’t have the financial means to afford a full-time person’s salary with benefits.”

How many workers are in AmeriCorps? “There are more than 50,000 AmeriCorps workers placed every year. There are approximately 30 to 50 positions in northwest Indiana overseen by the Porter County United Way.”

What are the work requirements? “All participants are assigned for one year either in a 900-hour part-time program or 1,800-hour full-time service hours program. We receive a small living stipend during the year and a possible scholarship at the end of service if we successfully complete a service project that benefits the agency we are assigned to.”

What projects have you done? “I’ve done four projects while serving as a tutor/mentor. They are: re-establishing a courtyard garden at Evans Elementary School; working with K-3 students in regard to state testing; encouraging students — from Head Start through fifth grade — in reading; coordinating a successful clothing and article drive with student council students in grades three through five before Christmas for the Salvation Army; and presenting planetarium programs as a reward for students’ good behavior.

How does United Way fit into the picture? “They are the overseer agency that contacts organizations and fills the positions for those interested in serving in an AmeriCorps position.”

What is the most challenging part of your job? “Trying to do too much to make a difference, and learning that I can’t solve every problem. But 90 percent of the time is rewarding and people really do want to help others grow and become happy with life.”

What’s the most enjoyable part of the job? “Seeing the success of students getting better scores and really enjoying math and reading. Observing work on certain projects, such as those that involve their own time to help other people, gives me faith in the future of America — knowing that I might have made a difference in a child’s life that will better everyone somehow.”

What’s your personal reaction to the AmeriCorps experience? “I lost my regular job due to downsizing three years ago, so this has been a wonderful confidence and rebuilding experience, to still be productive in a second phase of life and to make a difference. I am grateful for this experience.”

— Compiled by Sue Ellen Ross, Post-Tribune
correspondent