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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 8, 2011 MEDIA CONTACT: Candace Brasseur USCB Public Information Director 843-208-8030 brasse@uscb.edu

USCB Welcomes AmeriCorps VISTA Civic Engagement Coordinator Bluffton/Beaufort, SC- The University of South Carolina Beaufort welcomes new VISTA fellow, Elizabeth Burns, who will be serving as the Civic Engagement Coordinator in the Department of Student Life. Burns attended University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz and graduated in March of 2009 with a degree in Molecular and Cell Biology. Since graduation, Elizabeth has been participating in AmeriCorps programs around the south. A self-proclaimed “AmeriCorps addict,� Elizabeth has built homes, tutored children and provided tax services for low income families in Mississippi. She subsequently spent a year teaching water focused environmental education to middle and high school students in Knoxville TN. She is excited to follow her passions of hiking, reading, traveling and general adventuring in the Lowcountry. She looks forward to connecting USCB students to the wonderful world of volunteering.

ABOUT THE AMERICORPS VISTA PROGRAM AmeriCorps VISTA is the national service program designed specifically to fight poverty.

Founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965 and incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993, VISTA has been on the front lines in the fight against poverty in America for more than 40 years. VISTA members commit to serve full-time for a year at a nonprofit organization or local government agency, working to fight illiteracy, improve health services, create businesses, strengthen community groups, and much more. With passion, commitment, and hard work, you’ll create or expand programs designed to bring individuals and communities out of poverty. For more information, please see http://www.americorps.gov/.

ABOUT USCB Located in the heart of the Carolina Sea Islands, the University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB) is a senior institution of the University of South Carolina system serving the southeast coast of Georgia and South Carolina. USCB has been the fastest growing baccalaureate institution in the USC system since becoming a four year university in 2002.The university has two campuses which serve a diverse student body of more than 1750 students. The Historic Beaufort campus, located on Beaufort’s downtown waterfront, houses an innovative baccalaureate studio arts program in close proximity to Beaufort’s many art galleries. The Hilton Head Gateway campus in Bluffton, S.C., offers cutting-edge Computational Science and Nursing laboratories and is the home to Sand Shark athletics. USCB offers students an exceptional place to learn and live in an environment focused on growth, preservation and opportunity. For more information about the University of South Carolina Beaufort, please visit www.uscb.edu online or call the university’s Office of Public Information at 843-2088030.