The Mission of Tee Auster - Jessii2009 Warrhol Reporting

Tee Auster

As a relayer and committee member with Relay For Life of Second Life, for the past 5 years, I have met many interesting and fun people. One of these people is Tee Auster, who is the 2014 Mission Education Lead for the the Relay For Life of Second Life Committee. Despite her busy schedule, Tee was generous enough to sit down and talk about her role with the committee and her thoughts on Second Life.




JESSI:  Thanks for agreeing to sit down and talk with me Tee! So tell us about yourself. What made you create an account in SL, how long have you been here, and what types of things do you do in SL?

TEE: Five years ago I attended a conference for Technology Visionaries in Education and was optimistic about the implications especially for those with disabilities, to be able to experience a virtual world without the restrictions that they might  be experiencing in the organic world. For me personally, I was battling a chronic pain condition and found that when I was in world, I was out of pain.  

In SL I like fashion (SHOPPING), clubbing (A REASON TO DRESS UP), live music and living affordably in a home on the sea (MORE SHOPPING). Volunteer activities for Relay For Life of Second Life , The American Red Cross and the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Second Life give meaning to it all. The social aspect is incredible...being able to meet creative and intelligent people from all over the world.

JESSI:  Do you like shopping? LOL, just kidding, I love to shop in Second Life also. I see you have other non profits that you volunteer with, other than relay. Interesting what people can do in Second Life. I have heard about your new show, Tee Time, tell us about that.

Tee with Nuala Maracus

TEE:  Tee Time is a segment on Relay Rap on T1 Radio which features the mission of The American Cancer Society and Relay For Life of Second Life. Co-hosted by Nuala Maracus (sP), we feature information on the programs of The American Cancer Society, current research, global initiatives and what we can do to prevent cancer by having our screenings and by living a healthy lifestyle. If is important for everyone to know that our fundraising has a direct impact on survivors, caregiver and relayers.

Global initiatives were highlighted this year as cancer knows no boundaries. The work and coalition building of the ACS and other global partners and the coalition building is helping to break down these boundaries so that when treatments and cures come online, the benefit will be far reaching. This is our Journey of Promise.

I have been fortunate to get to know you as part of Relay For Life of Second Life. Last year as a coach, this year as the Lead of Mission Education. Tell us about this new role.

As the Mission Education Lead I work closely with the Internal Support Division Chair, Gem Sunkiller, you Jess as Co Chair and our ACS partner Sting, to get out the most current information from the the American Cancer Society. We do this by Mission Notices, Team Leader Training and tools that Team can use at their events such as posters, banners, flags and notecards. I will also be co hosting the Fight Back Ceremony during  Relay weekend and am very excited about that!

JESSI: Sounds like you have many informative topics on your show. I am glad to hear that you are highlighting things which The American Cancer Society does in real life. You are a very busy person Tee in Second Life, not sure how you fit it all in! Other than Relay and Tee Time, what are some other fun and exciting things you like to do in SL?

Tee the Shopalic!

TEE:  Did I mention shopping? Pretty simple really, hang out with friend and have fun. Explore incredible builds and role play when I have time. Hosting at clubs has been a great way to meet people. I also worked for a music magazine covering fashion at the techno music clubs.  And I blog regularly for Harmony of Hope Team.

JESSI: Yes you did mention shopping, but one can never get enough of that! Thanks Tee for giving us a glimpse into what you do in Second Life and for your chosen causes.

TEE: I truly believe that we can capture our real selves in our avatar and take risks that we might not take in RL.

Thank you Jess. It has been a pleasure to get to know you as well and to share that strong tie to education.