We’re so excited to introduce you to the 2020-2021 QVS Fellows! We have over 30 young adults eager to begin their year with QVS. Here are just a few highlights from our incoming Fellow cohort!
- Rose Shuker-Haines has long been immersed in Quaker spirituality and activism, and is excited to continue doing environmental justice work with Massachusetts Climate Action Network in Boston!
- Noah Bateman spent summers as a camp counselor at Mountain Friends Camp, and is excited to support youth in a community centered on Quaker values at The Friends School of Minnesota in the Twin Cities!
- Sam Downs helped run a weekly dinner for international students during college, and is eager to pursue justice and equity at Nationalities Service Center in Philadelphia!
- Celia Rayfiel explored issues related to migration, labor, and gender at Earlham College, and is thrilled to be working with the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon’s HIV Day Center in Portland!
Incoming Fellow Highlights (click on a picture below to read the Fellow's full bio)
Colin Battis (he/him) is originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where he was involved with his Unitarian Universalist congregation for most of his life, and found the time to run cross country and make it to Eagle rank in his Boy Scout troop on the side. Moving to Pennsylvania to attend Haverford College, his love for experiencing and learning about the natural world and his concern for accelerating biodiversity loss led him to major in Environmental Studies, as well as minoring in Creative Writing. While his hopes of studying sustainability and the energy industry abroad in Germany were cut short by the pandemic, Colin was able to complete an environmental capstone project in his senior year. His capstone involved working with a local solar energy co-op to deliver an info session and communications toolkit to promote solar power and enable homeowners, businesses, and nonprofits to start considering their options for solar power.
At Haverford, Colin dabbled in student journalism, manned the tech support desk in the IT department, and served as a member of the college's Committee for Environmental Responsibility, helping push for carbon neutrality planning and for reducing the amount of red meat served at the dining center. His interest in building intentional community also led to his place in Haverford's Quaker House, where he was able to more deeply experience and learn about Quaker values and traditions while holding events for the campus and even (a little anxiously) taking on the role of house treasurer. Along with running and experiencing the outdoors, Colin is passionate about writing, visual art, and games, especially ones that clog up a tabletop with lots of dice rolling and little pieces. He is looking forward to working with the Better Future Project during his time as a fellow, specifically helping to build climate resilience with Communities Responding to Extreme Weather.
Sam Wilson (he/him) grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, and attended school at Indiana University Bloomington, where he majored in International Studies with minors in Religious Studies and East Asian Languages and Cultures. He studied Chinese for three years, including one semester abroad his junior year in Nanjing, China. He also had the opportunity to travel to Taiwan twice as part of the Taiwan America Student Conference (TASC). Sam’s experience learning about Taiwan and working with students from across both countries in this student-led, multidisciplinary conference proved to be one of the most rewarding experiences of his life. He also participated in a variety of student activities throughout his college career, including orchestra, Taekwondo club, and Oxfam Club, and was able to explore a wide range of classes as well, including art classes such as photography. After graduating, he tried various opportunities, including staying at an organic farm in Florida, before eventually moving to Thailand to teach English, where he lived for over a year and a half. He enjoyed the opportunity to see a new part of the world and learn from new experiences. Other interests and hobbies of his include spending time in nature, sustainability, biking, meditating, drawing, photography, learning foreign languages, and talking with friends. Sam grew up attending a Quaker church and going to Quaker summer camps, but only in the past few years or so did he become more interested in Quakerism. He is looking forward to more deeply exploring Quakerism and spirituality during his year at QVS. Additionally, he hopes that QVS will help him develop a more in depth understanding of important modern-day issues, such as inequality, and how we can address them. Sam is excited to begin work as a QVS Fellow at Southern Education Foundation in Atlanta!
Emma Krasky (she/her) is looking forward to returning to her hometown, Minneapolis, where she was born and raised. This past May, she graduated from Smith College with a degree in Urban Geography and Landscape Studies. At Smith, Emma found a home in the ultimate frisbee team, Lunadisc, and also as a member of one of Smith’s cooperative houses. She spent last summer living and working at the Lake City Catholic Worker Farm; her experience at the LCCW opened her eyes to new ways of living and relating to the world around her, and she continues to explore the interconnections of faith, community, care, and abundance. When she’s not in the garden getting her hands dirty, you might find Emma writing love letters to her sister, exploring new swim spots with friends, fermenting foods, or dancing in her kitchen. She is incredibly excited to explore Quaker spirituality and work with the Minnesota Horticultural Society in this coming year!
Sara Laine (she/her) is a recent graduate of Swarthmore College where she completed a double major in Peace and Conflict Studies and Global Political Economy. During her time at Swarthmore, she was a member of the Swarthmore African Students Association (SASA), served as a research intern with the Black Cultural Center as well as a libraries intern with McCabe Library, and completed an archival internship with the Friends Historical Library, where she assisted with digitization of materials for the In Her Own Right project. This upcoming year with QVS, Sara is excited to build community with her colleagues, explore Quakerism and learn more about non-profits through her work with Brown Hope.
Get to know all the incoming Fellows by checking out their bios on their city pages: Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, or Portland, OR.
We hope you will follow along on Facebook or Instagram as we continue to introduce a QVS Fellow every weekday through August. You can like a post, drop a comment, and help us welcome these amazing young adults into a year with QVS!
Updates on National Orientation
Typically we welcome Fellows at the start of the year with an in-person five-day National Orientation. Since 2014, we gathered at Pendle Hill to welcome and orient Fellows to a year of intentional Quaker Service engagement.
With COVID-19, we are shifting National Orientation to an online format, with Fellows participating from their program houses. Help us with this, and other necessary programmatic shifts, by giving a gift today.
