Profiles of Service, Talisha Beha '12

Talisha Beha '12 - Columbia, South Carolina; Projects Manager, Central South Carolina Habitat for Humanity

Talisha develops, manages and sustains programs administered by Central South Carolina Habitat for Humanity. She is responsible for not only recruiting volunteers but engaging them in the Habitat mission. Moreover, she ensures that volunteers become advocates for affordable housing and become citizens who are engaged in the well-being of their community. She says developing those relationships and seeing them grow through volunteer work is one of the most rewarding aspects of her job. 

"In the most direct manner, Roanoke introduced me to Habitat for Humanity as a freshman. From that initial introduction, I spent four years building a relationship that led me to the Habitat I work with now. Prior to attending Roanoke, I had been involved with service, but it was really the community and the conversations I had with fellow students and staff members that helped me see the bigger picture of service and community involvement. The College's devotion to service and providing opportunities to students to become active citizens within their community was a significant building block in my journey toward making community-based nonprofits my long-term career path." 

Roanoke College provided me with a community both on and off campus that challenged my abilities to serve while providing the tools to succeed. Working alongside Jesse Griffin, director of the Center for Civic Engagement, I learned that it's not about the short-term impact we make, it's about creating long-term, sustainable changes in our communities. In the non-profit world, it is easy to lose sight of the long-term goals and the long-term impact your organization is having on a community. But this knowledge has provided me with the ability to look beyond my organization's immediate needs and see how I, and my organization, can impact our community in a positive and sustainable way."