By Marie Sheneman, Mali Rising volunteer

This month we welcomed our volunteer Operations Coordinator, Marie, to Mali Rising. We asked Marie to tell us a little about herself so that the whole Mali Rising community can get to know her. Read on to learn more about Marie and the great work she is tackling at Mali Rising.

Tell us a little about yourself Marie.

Hi everyone! My name is Marie Sheneman. I grew up north of Seattle, moved around many times, and recently landed in San Diego, CA. I must admit that I miss the rain of the Pacific Northwest, but San Diego is a great place to be. Professionally, I taught college sociology courses for 10 years. Now, I am exploring other professional and volunteer opportunities within the world of education. I am currently a registrar for an English language school and I volunteer as a conversation leader for UCSD’s English-In-Action conversation program that helps international students, scholars and spouses with their English conversational skills and understanding of American culture.

What are you going to be doing for Mali Rising?

I will be working with Merritt as the Operations Coordinator. At this point, I will work with the board members to schedule their meetings, send out newsletters to volunteers, interview volunteers and write feature stories about their experiences with Mali Rising. In the future, I may work on event coordination and help with data gathering and organization. I look forward to connecting with all of you!

What attracted you to this position?

While I was working on my PhD, I had to put volunteering aside. When I moved to San Diego, I decided that it was time to start volunteering again. Volunteering with Mali Rising seemed like a perfect opportunity: education, international, and remote. I knew that I wanted to volunteer with education-focused organizations. And, I love learning about and supporting other cultures. Additionally, as I said earlier, I tend to move around a lot. This also has made it difficult in the past to commit to volunteer opportunities. This remote opportunity with Mali Rising allows me the flexibility to continue volunteering even if I decide to move. With respect to this specific position, I was attracted to it because I like coordinating. When I taught sociology, I also coordinated a program for three-and-a-half years. While many of my colleagues balked at the tedious coordination tasks, I loved them. In sum, this position with Mali Rising is a perfect volunteer opportunity for me.

What do you do for fun outside of working and volunteering for Mali Rising?

I am a sucker for hobbies! I enjoy painting with acrylics. I started painting a couple of years ago to use up some supplies in the closest. That plan kind of failed because I discovered a passion for painting. Instead of using up the supplies, I bought more… and more. Since then, I have painted about 100 pieces. In addition to painting, I enjoy studying French and Spanish. I have been certified at the A2 level in both languages. I hope to take the B1 tests for both languages this year. I also enjoy reading books, mostly travel memoirs. On the topic of travelling, that is also one of my hobbies. I love experiencing and learning about new cultures. I have visited 19 countries so far. I cannot wait to visit more! Lastly, I enjoy doing yoga and (easy) hiking. One of the great things about living in San Diego is the abundance of hiking/biking trails to explore!

Want to volunteer like Marie? Find all kinds of options here!