Becca Rosenberg's Story!

Hello again, blog readers.  Here is another write-in, by the incomparable Becca Rosenberg (who is, incidentally, serving her second year at FWPS AmeriCorps).  Enjoy!

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

- Mahatma Gandhi -

My AmeriCorps story began in April of 2011, at the end of my student teaching semester.  After experiencing an extremely emotional transition from classroom aide to lead teacher, I had no confidence in my abilities and was scared that I had made a terribly expensive mistake by enrolling in a Masters in Teaching program.  Instead of feeling prepared to develop my own classroom, I wanted to run home and apply to the nearest coffee shop.  But that did not happen.  Instead, during a moment of restlessness brought on by a mere two days of hiding out at my parents’ house, I discovered the AmeriCorps homepage.  Here I am, exactly one year later, with a completely different attitude about my work, newfound confidence in my abilities, and a fresh outlook on my values and goals.  Now, it is not about feeling ready to teach, it is about choosing to serve and about viewing the past as a learning experience instead of as a point of regret.  I did not initially expect to do AmeriCorps for a second year, but I have found the perfect confluence between my passion for education and my desire to make a difference in my community.  Because of this, I am pursuing another year serving in schools as an academic tutor, mentor, and volunteer recruiter/coordinator.

There are so many moments – both seemingly small and undeniably huge – that have shaped my AmeriCorps story.  I will try to express some of them as compactly, but impact-fully, as possible.  Here are some snapshots:

It was 8:30 in the morning on a Saturday.  It was freezing.  I was working at an elementary school track meet and was in charge of wrangling thirty 3rd-5th grade boys while they waited to do the long jump.  To keep them preoccupied, I started to ask them if they knew my team members.  Every time I mentioned someone’s name, eyes lit up and smiles appeared.  One boy shouted at the top of his lungs from the back of the bleachers, “I get to work with Miss Christina during my recess!”  I am pretty sure only my coworkers could make staying inside for recess that wonderful.

more inspirational words after the jump!

Ben Endre's Story

Hello again!  Tuesday is once again upon us.  Next up: another University of Wisconsin grad, Ben Endres!

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!

Carl Hinton's Story

Allow me to introduce, Carl Hinton.

Carl joined AmeriCorps and moved to Morton, WA two years ago, never anticipating he would stay longer than one year. Since joining AmeriCorps he has made lasting relationships with Morton's residents, students, and his AmeriCorps teammates. Here is a clip from his interview:

So how have you changed since joining AmeriCorps?

Thinks. How have I changed? That’s a tough question, I don’t really know. Laughs. I guess I’ve become more aware of what the US has to offer. I suppose I grew up in sort of a bubble, and especially after going to a liberal arts college, where you are surrounded by like-minded people, coming to rural Washington allowed me to see that there’s a lot of different ideas people out there. And being able to work with them has opened my mind a lot. Um, I’ve guess I’ve become more patient as well. Working with kids who don’t want to do their work can be grating on the ego at times. Laughs. Like, you feel you’re good at your job, but then they’re not doing anything! So you’re obviously not good at your job. I’ve had to come to terms with that at times. It’s made me more creative and patient in my work.

Click here to read more from his interview.

Elizabeth Flamm's Story

Hello All!

And now...an excerpt of our interview with the incomparable Elizabeth Flamm!  This lady, a grad of the University of Maryland, is serving her second AmeriCorps year in the small mountain town of Morton, Washington. Check it out:

So, what does National Service mean to you? Why'd  you choose to be apart of national service?

I didn't choose to do national service for the idealistic reason.  I chose to do National Service because I want to do the Peace Corps, and I need to be qualified-- so I chose to do AmeriCorps.

But the same could be true for…I could answer the question in regards to why I volunteered before, why I thought Peace Corps was important. I think…when you're born into privilege, it's very little to do with you, it's just luck and and circumstance that you happen to have a good public school and you happen to have parents who were supportive.  And I think it's an obligation you have at some point to try and make the world a bit more fair… in terms of resources or wealth or services.

Click here to read more of this interview.

Guidelines for Submitting an Entry

We would love to hear from you! To send AmeriStories your reflections on AmeriCorps service via e-mail (AmeriStories@gmail.com), please keep the following guidelines in mind:

Length: One page, single spaced.  Your reflection can be a list of answers to our questions, an essay, or a series of philosophical reflections or anecdotes.  You could even write a poem!  

Please answer, in some way, the following questions:

• Name
• Location before AmeriCorps.
• Where are you serving right now? Tell us about your site.
• What do your family and friends think of your service? What was their initial reaction?

Here are some more questions to provide direction to your reflection (you may answer all, some or none of these, they are jumping off points):

• How have you changed since joining AmeriCorps?
• What did you think service was going to be like? Was it what you expected?
• What does national service mean to you?
• Describe an influential character in your year of service. Is there anyone you served with, or served, who you won't forget?
• Did you have any changes in your perspective of what service is? Can you describe a 'light bulb moment'?
• Describe a moment when you were overwhelmed. What happened? How did you get past it?
• How has this year with AmeriCorps changed your life goals/trajectory?  
• What were other job possibilities that you were considering before joining AmeriCorps?