Proud to be in AmeriCorps!

This past Sunday marked our last farmers' market.  Kara, Audra and I set up our tent across from the Lavender Lady in Palisade, ready for a nice afternoon of handing out stickers to kids, people watching and promoting energy efficiency.  But in fact, the people who stopped by actually wanted to talk about AmeriCorps!  They were intrigued by our uniforms rather than our brochures.  Some of them had even served as VISTA members, one of them going on to be the Executive Director of a Boys and Girls Club.  His story was of particular interest (and comfort) since many of us are trying to make the transition into new careers/schools/lives. 

This got the three of us talking about how we were feeling the last time we made decisions of this nature.  It was interesting to me, especially as a Corps Ambassador who tries to recruit new members to NCCC, to learn how differently we had all decided to dedicate a year of our lives to service:

Audra told us that she had first met AmeriCorps members on an alternative spring break trip her freshman year of college.  She came home and told her mother about how she had found her future calling and was already planning on joining after graduation.  This announcement was met with skepticism, but 3 years later, her parents supported her wholeheartedly when she actually took the plunge.     

Kara learned about the program through a bookmark that was handed to her during a presentation in her Health Careers class her senior year of high school.  Her mom was the one that took it one step further, thinking that it was something to really look into.  Kara's mom researched NCCC online, printed out FAQ and other info to convince the family that this was a great opportunity.  Before she knew it, Kara was filling out the application, interviewing and getting accepted to join our fabulous team you know and love today.

My story is different as well.  I was riding the metro in Washington, DC on my way to an internship during my senior year of college.  It was that time of year when everyone was interviewing for jobs and having minor panic attacks about where they were going to live, what was their true passion, how much money they were going to make, etc.  Sharing these sentiments, I was lost in thought when I saw three people dressed in uniform with red jackets.  They were having a conversation about working with kids, doing different service projects, and they just seemed to be loving life so much that I vowed to look up whatever organization they were with online.  Turns out they were with City Year and one click on the internet led to another which led to AmeriCorps NCCC.  I chose NCCC because of the team-based work style and the travel, as well as the access it would give me to  projects dealing with the environment.  I ended up turning down a job offer from that internship I had in DC, but I haven't regretted a single minute of this year.

Thanks for Reading!

-Julie