Staff Spotlight: Alison Climes

Our staff spotlight this week is Alison Climes. For the past year Alison has been working as our Student Engagement Coordinator. 
 

What’s your educational background?
I received my Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Spanish from the University of Michigan in 2015 and then my Masters of Arts in International Education Management from Middlebury Institute of International Studies in 2019. Between these two experiences, I worked in K-12 education teaching English and Spanish, working at a refugee education program as well as a college and career readiness program for high school students. 

What’s your role at Ginsberg?
As the Student Engagement Coordinator, I work as a part of our student facing team to support students and student organizations that are planning for community engagement experiences. We do this through providing workshops focused on Entering, Engaging and Exiting communities and holding advising and consultation appointments. Another piece of my work is serving as the staff advisor for Michigan Active Citizens - Alternative Spring Break (MAC-ASB), where I work closely with the student Leadership Team to plan education and training for Site Leaders and Members, build relationships with our community partners and support the team with the logistical pieces of running a sponsored student organization. This fall, I’m also working with a student team to plan virtual events through the Ginsberg Center for students to continue to stay involved with the community. 

Tell us more about MAC-ASB
Working with MAC-ASB is one of my favorite parts of my role at the Ginsberg Center. This semester will look different for MAC-ASB as it will be virtual, but the team is coming up with creative ideas to continue their service commitment to long-standing community partners. Traditionally, MAC-ASB is structured to allow students to choose a social justice topic that they are interested in to focus their service around, then locations are chosen for each group based on their partner organization. This year MAC-ASB still plans to form groups around social justice topics, which will be led by “Site Leaders”, where they will learn about and engage with the topic before participating in virtual service during the winter semester. The Leadership Team has been working hard to strategize new ways to engage with the partnerships formed with organizations over the years. I’m excited to see how this new format works out this year!

What are some social justice issues you’re most passionate about?
Outside of my work at the Ginsberg Center, I’m very passionate about immigrant rights and refugee rights. Though these often get lumped together, it’s important to learn about the nuances between these titles, because they are not the same. While working in Arizona with students who were refugees, I also learned more about access to education and education equity for both refugees and immigrants.

How have you been surviving quarantine?
During quarantine, I’ve been living with my sister and who is a graduate student at the University of Michigan and both of our partners. We’ve spent a lot of time playing with our dogs (who we got during quarantine) and playing lots of euchre. 

Other hobbies?
I (tolerate) running and love hiking outside during the summer. Other hobbies include film photography, writing and sending snail mail to friends as well as rock climbing.