Why did you choose to serve?
I chose to serve… well, I heard about AmeriCorps through my sister. She did it after she graduated and I always knew that I wanted to do something more. I had lived a really blessed life. I mean, I didn’t have any problems and money was never an issue, and I figured it was something I should do to give back. I knew that there were other people out there who were far worse off than I was. I think it’s important to give back.
And for me personally, the reason why I chose to serve in education was because I just think that education is so important. For these kids to be successful later on in their lives, they need to have a good education. They need people to look up to who have been successful before… and that are older than them. So that’s why I chose to serve - and serve in elementary schools. I believe that education is the most important thing to the success of our society.
more after the jump!
So if you know other ways that you can serve while [holding an average job], why would you specifically choose an AmeriCorps program, rather than just volunteering at a school?
Thinks. Hmm. Well, I think for me it’s because AmeriCorps acted as a way for me to do service like this, but have it be more structured. You also get the trainings – you don’t get that if you’re just volunteering at a school. I think I lucked out choosing this program, because this program is just really successful, and we do really good trainings and get lots of support.
I chose AmeriCorps because it was familiar. I knew people who had done it and I knew that people really liked it, so I really never thought any different. I was really considering AmeriCorps since sophomore year of college.
Can you talk about somebody that you’ve met this year in your term of service, who you won’t forget?
Laughs. Yeah, well I mean the obvious answer is Monda. Before coming here I had never had a supervisor of her nature – very supportive and extremely positive. I think from now on I’m going to take her leadership style, because I liked it and I thought it made us successful. I mean, that’s the biggest reason that this program is so successful, because of her. In that sense I’m always going to kind of tailor my leadership in later experiences to be more positive be more focused on strengths and be more accountable.
But other than that, there are so many people here who have influenced me positively, I mean it’s hard to just choose one I think. But as far as my professional life goes, she’s going to be a big influence on me.
Did you have a moment during your time in service – a light bulb moment – when you realized that what you’re doing is worthwhile? That you can here for a reason and that you’re doing good for the community?
Hmm. I actually think that it was the first day of Westway [after-school program]. We walked through the Westway neighborhood and saw how impoverished it was. And it just hit me – I was like, Whoa! these kids really need help and people to be good influences on their lives. Because the older generation in that neighborhood is obviously not the most supportive group of people. And it’s like we talk about, it’s not because they don’t love their kids, it’s because they have other things that they are worried about. They are more worried about getting food on the table for their kids than they getting them to soccer practice or playing outside with them and whatnot. So when they first came in and I realized how… Pauses… starving for attention they were, you can just tell that this is going to be something that they really need and I’m really going to be able to help their lives in some way by being here and not, you know, shying away from it.
If you could explain AmeriCorps in 30 seconds to your grandma, how would you do it?
AmeriCorps is somewhat like PeaceCorps, but it’s a shorter commitment and it’s only in the U.S. and it’s got a huge range of opportunities. You can work in education; you can work in the environment. You can work behind the scenes doing recruitment and you can work on the front grounds doing tutoring. And it’s just, I think, an amazing program and how many people they help is just, I think, ridiculous and it’s so cool that it exists. But you don’t get paid anything, really – technically you don’t get paid at all. But a lot of people want to do it and that’s good.
Have you had to explain it to people? Have you encountered people who don’t know what it is?
A lot of people don’t know what it is, really. Like, they know they’ve heard it before – they’ve heard the terms AmeriCorps. And they always ask me, “is it like Peace Corps?” and I always just say “Kinda”. Laughs. It’s usually an older generation. I think people our age generally know about it and kinda know what it is because it’s always an option once you graduate, people are like, “You could do AmeriCorps or Teach for America.” I think a lot of kids our age know about it but – well I guess we’re kind of adults now, but…. Laughs. Almost. But yes, there are definitely people that I’ve had to explain it to.
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