Matthew Zawacki, the youth assistance program coordinator for La Porte Community School Corporation’s Virtual Learning Academy, has long known that he wanted to help people. Through various job experiences and inspiration from his mother, he has found himself in a fulfilling position in which he offers support to high school students on the alternative education path.
Zawacki attended Baker College in Muskegon, Michigan where he majored in Human Services. Human Services is a discipline focused on understanding social problems, and learning how to offer support, assistance, and help to those in need. After graduating, Zawacki worked in the mental health field, the general health field, and with the Department of Child Services. In these roles, he learned skills and knowledge that have fostered his success in his current career.
“My past job experiences 100% helped me succeed in my career, but they didn’t just help me learn about the populations I served,” said Zawacki. “My experiences helped me learn more about myself and how I want to help my community. I want to see the minority groups, those who are underprivileged or underrepresented, and try to spotlight them. I want to give those groups a sounding board and offer a step up for those who need it.”
In his work with the La Porte Community School Corporation, Zawacki offers support to students through many channels. Zawacki listens to students about their mental health, assists with college and career readiness, and coordinates field trips. The strength and resilience his mother taught him inspired his focus on supporting students.
“I look at the whole student and consider what services I can provide,” said Zawacki. “Do they need a mentor? Do they need community resources? Do they need academic help? I’ll meet with every student every other week, and we will create goals together.”
Zawacki walks with students on their path, teaching them responsibility, listening to them, and considering what they want from their lives. Zawacki employs a strength-based program in which he encourages students and offers support in reaching the goals they set.
The program has been so successful that when Zawacki first started in 2020, there were 34 students, and this year there are about 100 students enrolled. The program has thrived because of the focus on student’s needs as a whole instead of just academically.
“I use a lot of my previous job experience to try to make a program with my peers that benefits the whole student,” said Zawacki. “They create their goals with me, and then we carve a path to get them there. I want the students to feel heard and that their dreams matter.”
Zawacki is proud of his coworkers, the group that has made this program possible, and the students he serves. He credits his peers for their compassion and love for their community and the students they serve. Zawacki applauds how receptive the students have been to the program.
Zawacki enjoys traveling, walking in nature, and playing video games outside of work. He feels rewarded and blessed to have his career and get to work with his coworkers and students every day.
“If I could give one piece of advice, I would say it’s okay to make mistakes – it’s just not okay to stay still,” said Zawacki. “Sometimes we have to fall to learn to get back up, and we must be okay with the bruises because that is the way we learn.”