Thursday, March 12, 2009

Team Care Force Spotlight: Alice Newman

(Team Care Force Senior Corps Member Alice Newman, right, with former Baton Rouge City Heroes teammate Jason Miller.)


Yes, hello there. My name is Alice Newman, but I go by a variety of nicknames here at the office, such as Newm, Side Special and my personal favorite, Ninja Newm. I am from San Antonio, TX and graduated from the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton. Not only is UNT home to some famous alumni such as Norah Jones, Meatloaf and Dr. Phil, but it is also where the 1991 cinema gem “Necessary Roughness,” starring Scott Bakula and Sinbad, was filmed. While at UNT I was the evening voice of KNTU (the best jazz station in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex), served as a resident assistant and also dabbled in the fine art of playing Scrappy, UNT’s mascot.

After college, I moved to London where I worked at the very first Apple store in the UK. I worked at the “Genius Bar” trouble shooting iPod issues and also gave presentations in the store's theater training customers on Apple software. Sadly, after seven months of living the dream my visa expired and I went back to Texas, where I worked various jobs that were not satisfying in the least.

Although I am proud Texan, my ancestral roots run deep into the ground of Southern Louisiana. About a year after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, I left my house and moved into an abandoned school building in the 9th Ward. Six days out of the week I spent my time gutting houses, and on the seventh day I handed out food and supplies, and prayed with those in need. After several months I became physically and emotionally exhausted and decided to move back to Texas. Shortly after my return, I felt the Lord tugging at my heart, telling me to return to Louisiana. In my search for a way to get back there to continue the work I started, I came across City Year.

I was so happy to be a part of the founding City Heroes team in Baton Rouge, and planning our service days was my favorite part of the job. I was asked to participate in the NBA Cares Day of Service in New Orleans in February 2008, which provided me with my first Care Force experience. I had such a great time that I decided to apply for Team Care Force. My favorite project so far has been the T-Mobile project in Colorado Springs. Not only was I was able to design a T-Mobile Huddle Up Zone, but all of the teachers at the school were very welcoming and the weather sure was beautiful. My favorite non-work related experience, brought to you by Care Force, was the early morning walk along the beach in Naples, Florida last November with my teammate Amy and program managers Meggan and Chris.

After City Year, I plan to move back south where the tea is sweet and the weather is hot. I am looking for a career in a higher education environment because working with college students is super exciting and fun! Outside of work, you can hear me talking about Harry Potter, reading Twilight, eating sweets, playing guitar hero or swimming with the masters team at the YMCA.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

you rock Alice!

Unknown said...

Great Bio! So proud of you and your accomplishments.

Love - Mom

Amy Draybuck said...

i made it to your spotlight! woo! twilight fo life!

kristin :) said...

can't wait 'til you get back down south, alice!!! you are definitely missed around here! been wondering when you were going to get around to writing one of these. thanks for sharing your heart with the world!