Alongside Laura Collins in our programming department is another new staffer at KNOM — although one who may be familiar to many of our readers, and certainly to many of our listeners. Meet Margaret DeMaioribus, our new outreach coordinator.
This autumn — as we describe, elsewhere in our January newsletter — Laura became KNOM’s program director, leaving an opening in our important outreach position. Margaret, who first served as a volunteer reporter during the 2012-2013 service year, felt the time was right to return to Alaska. In recent years, she’s been building her career in the Seattle area, working in health sciences, but she says she’s kept close to her heart the experiences, personal growth, and friendships forged during her service year in Nome. Indeed, after making a reunion visit to KNOM last summer (with fellow volunteer alumnus Josh Cunningham, pictured below), Margaret described, in our August 2015 Static, that the “skills and experiences” she took from her KNOM tenure “are still with me in my daily life: from humbling myself to learn new things, to learning how to ask deeper questions and listen, as well as how to be present to others and myself in the midst of stress and uncertainty.”
Margaret’s enthusiasm for our mission and our region will make her a perfect fit in her new role. As outreach coordinator, she’ll be building upon her own KNOM volunteer experiences to serve as a daily liaison and guide for our current, 2015-2016 class of volunteers: Laura, Emily, Maddie, and Mitch. And she’ll be working fervently, especially during the winter and spring months, to recruit the next generation of KNOMers, such as by reading applications and spreading the word of our unique volunteer program with colleges and universities, especially those with Catholic affiliations or strong traditions of community service.
Thank you for making possible Margaret’s return to KNOM. We invite you to join us in wishing her well as she starts her new role. And if you happen to know any recent or soon-to-be college graduates who might be a good fit for our mission, don’t forget: we’re currently accepting applications for the 2016-2017 volunteer year! (More information here.)