FIRST AmeriCorps Vista Member Bios

Robert Holup, VISTA, Washington, DC

Robert Holup recently graduated from Florida State University with his B.S. in both Finance and Economics. Originally from Linden, NJ, Holup lived in Cape Coral, FL before attending Florida State University in Tallahassee. During his college career, Holup was highly engaged on campus in a variety of activities giving him a very diverse background; including his leadership roles within The F.S.U. Marching Chiefs and Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity Inc. During his senior year at Florida State, Holup was a co-founder for a new mentoring organization to target ESOL students within the Tallahassee area and served as a counselor for the C.A.R.E. Summer Bridge Program at Florida State University. Holup will be enrolling in law school Fall 2013 pursing his J.D./M.A. in Economics. He hopes to work within public policy either domestically or abroad.

Michael Kaurich, VISTA, Maryland

Mike Kaurich is a recent graduate from Grand Valley State University with a degree in History and Political Science.  While at Grand Valley, Kaurich worked with the Office of Student Life on a number of different volunteer programs ranging from week-long service trips to weekday service outings.  Kaurich was also a member of FIRST Team 33 out of Pontiac Michigan while in high school and volunteered as a Mentor for a FIRST LEGO League team.  Outside of volunteering, Kaurich really enjoys cities, live music, and loves his record player dearly.  He is really excited to get to work inspiring kids to the wonders of science and math.

Rachel LaBattaglia, VISTA, New Hampshire

Rachael LaBattaglia graduated from Towson University in 2011 with a B.S. in Earth-Space Science and a secondary education certificate.  LaBattaglia also minored in Spanish and Astronomy.  She participated in a variety of service organizations and held leadership roles throughout high school and college.  LaBattaglia has worked extensively with children through being a camp counselor, student teaching, and teaching a year of high school Spanish in Maryland.  LaBattaglia is looking forward to getting students and communities excited about robotics and STEM initiatives.

Riley McCall, VISTA, Massachusetts

Riley McCall graduated from Duquesne University with a dual major in International Business and Marketing. While at Duquesne, she studied abroad in Rome, Italy and was involved with campus service groups that have travelled to New Orleans, Louisiana, Appalachia, and West Virginia. McCall has been a strong advocate of volunteering, especially through service-learning. After graduating, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer specializing in Agribusiness in Cameroon. Prior to graduating, McCall interned at the Pennsylvania State Government and Amizade Global Service-learning Programs.  McCall is excited to work for FIRST because she loves to see the youth inspired by science and technology in special and extraordinary ways.

Lindsey Wright, VISTA, Maine

Lindsey Wright is a recent graduate of the University of New Hampshire. In December, Wright was one of the first students to graduate from UNH's new Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems program. She has a strong background in research and conducted grant-funded independent research for an honors senior thesis in agroecology during 2011. Wright has held several positions with non-profit and service-oriented organizations and she most recently served with the U.S. Navy's Morale, Welfare, and Recreation division. Wright's interest in science comes from a fascination with the ways humans interact with their environment. In her future work, she hopes to help others awaken their own curiosity about the world and encourage others to work toward new discoveries.