Testimonials

MIAD’s Service Learning Program continues to build a base of community partners and make substantial contributions to many different sectors of the southeastern Wisconsin community. Every year we get many compliments from partner agencies on the creativity and dedication of MIAD students.

Community Partner Testimonials

Red and white logo for Friedens Food Pantry, with images depicting a dove, a stalk of wheat, and a cross.

“Amazing volunteer. Super helpful and kind to everyone at the pantry. I very much enjoy having her help out on a shift. ”

Supervisor: Aubree Hansen
Placement: Friedens Community Ministries
Student: Callyssa Childs

Black and white logo for the Second Hand Purrs Cat Shelter, showing silhouettes of a larger cat and smaller kitten, along with some pawprint designs.

“Emma has been invaluable to us at the shelter and we are really sad that this semester of MIAD involvment is coming to an end! Emma is a self-starter and very intuitive and not only knows what needs to be done but also seeks out additonal tasks as we move through our shift. I really began to rely on her as she has experience with cats and became the person I would ask to help when I needed to do a quick medical procedure or clip nails, if one of my other regular volunteers was unavailable. I know that Emma is going to be successful in her career and hope she stops in and visits us at the shelter every once in awhile! ”

Supervisor: Lisa Kleppek
Placement: Second Hand Purrs
Student: Emma Jenkins

Photo of the Milwaukee Public Library's Central Branch location. Large building with lots of large arched windows and architectural details. A flagpole, some street lamps, and some golden tufted grass are outside the building.

“Grayson was an excellent volunteer. He volunteered more than the 35 hours required of him. He created beautiful bookmarks for the library and also helped out at events in the Rare Books Room and large scale events like Zine Fest at Central Library. He was a pleasure to work with, in addition to being enthusiastic and flexible, and he followed directions very well. Although he signed up to do bookmarks, he was willing to jump in and help the library at other volunteer opportunities, which we were really grateful for. A wonderful volunteer!”

Supervisor: Fawn Siemsen-Fuchs
Placement: Milwaukee Public Library
Student: Grayson Dow

Gold and green Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin logo. The "i" of Feeding and America line up vertically and have an icon of wheat growing out of the top of them.

“Pax was a model volunteer. He frequently demonstrated initiative, taking ownership of particular work areas in the volunteer center without needing to be asked. He was efficient and thorough in all tasks, as well as pleasant to work with at all times. We would be delighted to see him again in future!”

Supervisor: Natalia Watson
Placement: Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin
Student: Pax Robinson

Student Testimonials

Artist Julia Flock creating work in the print studio. She's holding a see-through panel with ink on it, and some rich blue ink is rolled out on a surface in front of her.

“All of the volunteers were invited to a light show and the unveiling of the Holiday show… the best part was watching the strangers see it all for the first time. …A woman read each of my poems aloud to her grandchildren; a child just learning to read stumbled over my words, proudly proclaiming them to her mother. I don’t think there can possibly be a better feeling in the world than seeing kids get joy out of something I created for them. It feels like a million things happened that night, some funny, some sweet, all convincing me ever more that this place is important, but suffice it to say that today has been by far the best one I have had this semester.”

Julia Flock
Illustration 
Placement: Mitchell Park Domes

 

Brandon Luster sits in his studio, surrounded by his pencil and pastel drawings. On the desk next to him is a large pile of art suppplies.

“[This place]…feels so abrupt in the center of the city.  It’s gentle, the people are kind, in the heart of the city….the place where Milwaukee feels the most cold.
This place IS community, there isn’t a separation.
This palace breathes because the people are the lungs and heart.
This place “flows” because the people are the current.
And that is why I fell in love with this place, even though working with bikes is something I’ve never done before.  Hopefully, in the future, I can find time to help….but even so, I’ll come back to visit.  How could I not?”

Brandon Luster
Fine Arts/NSP
Placement:  Vulture Space Bicycle Shop

Lauren Blood sits in her studio space, turned away from her desk to face the camera. Her laptop is open with the screen displaying her digital workspace, and a collage of personal work and inspirational materials are on the wall behind her.

“Hearing about some of the other work that my peers are doing at their service placements, I was remembering originally questioning how I was going to be able to find the time in my schedule between work and school to reach over 30 hours of volunteer work, and regrettably, I was also somewhat skeptical of the importance or impact that my volunteering would actually have on an organization. But looking back from where I was to where I am now, and where my classmates are now, I am 100% comfortable to admit that my original perspective was wrong. Each of us through nothing but offering our time and attention to a cause, have positively impacted the lives of people and the environments of the organizations that we have been placed at, and I think that reality is amazing.” 

Lauren Blood
Communication Design
Placement: Milwaukee Art Therapy Collective