WEBVTT

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My name is Emily Swart. I majored in 

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interdisciplinary studies at Western Oregon University. 

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Today, I'm the donor relations manager at Marion Polk Food Share.

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In my career and development, I've been able to help 

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so many people in so many different ways. 

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But I knew if I came to Marion Polk Food Share, 

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I would be able to help even more. 

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More folks who are experiencing food insecurity. 

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Beep, beep, beep (truck backing up)

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We have volunteers on a daily basis sorting donations from retailers,

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from food drives and from local farmers. 

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And through the warehouse we're able to help not only food pantries but also fellow 

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progams like Church in the Park, Boys & Girls Club and even the WOU Pantry on campus. 

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Aside from the warehouse, we have a Youth Farm Program 

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at a Chemeketa Community College campus. 

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We serve 60 community gardens and we also support the local Meals on Wheels. 

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My job consists of securing private funds so that can distribute

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For me, I didn't know right out of high school what I wanted to do. 

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I knew I had all these skills but I didn't really know how to fine tune them.  

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I needed direction. Western provided that. 

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I think that if you come to Western and you have an open mind

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and you really lean on your professors and the staff, 

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they're going to help you even dig deeper

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into what you really interested and passionate about. 

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My interdisciplinary degree allowed me to sort of explore and be curious

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and that's truly who I am. 

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I would absolutely recommend Western. 

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You need a place where the staff and faculty care about you as a whole person.

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What makes Western special 

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is they take students like me and launch them into jobs like this. 

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music