Former Recovery Corps leader now working with Artists as First Responders in Peru

Hanna O'Connell helps with
Wonderland Trail restoration in 2007

I have a number of Google news alerts set up, including, of course, one that looks for a combination of the terms "volunteer" and "Mount Rainier." I get a lot of notices about volunteers in Mount Rainier, Maryland, and my own blog posts turn up frequently, but I also occasionally come across news about alumni of our volunteer program and the things they've gone on to do elsewhere in the world.

Such in the case with this pair of articles on the website of the "Scene" newspaper in Wisconsin, featuring our own Hanna O'Connell, one of the crew leaders for our Student Conservation Association-led Mount Rainier Recovery Corps back in 2007. Hanna is now working on a degree in International Relations at the University of Wisconsin, but has not given up her passion for volunteer work; she's now working with an organization called Artists as First Responders, helping with flood recovery efforts in Peru. It's not clear from the articles, but it sounds like she might be one of the founders of the group.

It sounds like wonderful and compassionate work, and all of Hanna's old friends here at Mount Rainier wish her well. Follow these links to learn more about what she's up to:

Artists as First Responders born from trip to Peru
Hanna in Peru: Back to the Sacred Valley
Artists as First Responders (A1R)