Meet the Members: James

Name: James Raspanti

Hometown: Shorewood, Wisconsin

College: University of Wisconsin-Madison ‘07, Chemistry and Neurobiology

Fun fact: I used to have a ponytail.  Sadly, there is limited evidence of this.

Favorite quote: “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall” – Confucius.

What you did before AmeriCorps? After graduating, I worked as a Lab Manager for a researcher in the Neuroscience department at UW.  In addition to keeping the lab running smoothly, I worked on a small team investigating the structure and function of a bacterial ion channel.  The idea was to learn about this protein as a way to enhance our understanding of similar human ones with the ultimate goal being better drugs.

Did your past work experience apply to your year of service? Definitely.  My work as a youth soccer coach and at a summer chemistry camp gave me some practice with the young ones.  The patience I learned in these experiences and from research has been very important for my service.

Why did you choose to do AmeriCorps? After spending the past several years in academic research, I wanted to get involved with more tangible community service. Also, since I am interested in a public health career I think it is important to learn about community health as it is practiced.

What are you doing as an AmeriCorps member?  I’m serving with the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago.  I’m a Health Educator with RHA’s Asthma programs.  I go into schools throughout Chicago to teach kids with asthma about their condition and how to manage it so they can lead a healthy life.  I also educate parents, teachers, and any other adults that may be supervising children with asthma. 

What are your plans after AmeriCorps, and how does your year of service apply to your future plans? I am still waiting for a final answer on this one.  Hopefully, I will be starting medical school this upcoming fall.  Plan B is a work in progress.

What is your favorite part of CHC, so far? Getting to know so many awesome people through the Health Corps and my service site.  A distant second would be fulfilling my childhood dream of becoming a ninja. (Don't remember what he's talking about? Click here.)

Deep Thoughts from the Chicago Health Corps: How many UNREAD messages do you have in your Gmail inbox? Oh, I would say somewhere around 1,013 unread messages. (Editor's note: This number is actually artificially low. After I pointed out the exorbitant amount of unread messages in his inbox, Mr. James began self-conciously--and vindictively--deleting those precious unread messages. Imagine with me for a moment what the numbers could have been, had his e-mail reading pattern been left undisturbed.)