I took the road less travelled...

On the second day of my AmeriCorps National Service orientation, I was so enthused

by what I had heard that I approached my Program Director, Deirdra Wright, and said, “I
want to give a presentation about AmeriCorps at my high school.”

Ten months after that conversation, on November 19th, I will be presenting to my Alma
mater my experiences as an AmeriCorps Team Leader, to help increase awareness
about gap year opportunities & benefits.

Two days into my AmeriCorps term of service, and I already knew I had been pushed
down the right path. Sure, I had decided to take a year off, but I wasnʼt too happy about
joining AmeriCorps at first.

“Dad, I want to expand my Spanish language skills and volunteer at a hospital in

Ecuador.”
“No. Itʼs not safe. There are plenty of opportunities to help people here in America.”

It was weeks before I would even look at the information my dad had printed out about
AmeriCorps. I continued trying to persuade him to let me volunteer in Ecuador, but to no
avail.

Over the last few months, the resentment I had toward my dad has turned to gratitude.

I feel truly fortunate to have had my parentsʼ support from the start. Not all parents are
excited when their full-of-potential soon-to-be high school graduate says, “I donʼt want to
go to college in the fall.” They were there for me in September when I was the only one
of my friends not heading off to college, through the ups and downs of living on my own
in Buffalo, and through everything else in between.

Even after I decided AmeriCorps was a good idea, it took a few months for everything to
come together. I spent hours on the AmeriCorps website, researching openings, fine-
tuning my application, and submitting it to various programs across the United States.

Unfortunately for me, the one I chose - Western New York AmeriCorps - underwent a
reformation a month before I was scheduled to start, so my term was pushed back a
few times to its actual start date in January 2010. While I waited for my service to begin,
I worked a full time job and volunteered in my hometown.

Soon after I became an AmeriCorps member, my passion for the environment led me to
create a recycling program and educational presentation for our office. This was a
challenge due to the varied cultures, ages, and levels of education present in our
organization. I learned that the phrase “If you donʼt know then you canʼt care” truly is
accurate. Not everyone in our office knew about recycling, but with a little education, we
were able to create a caring group who will be able to maintain the program going
forward.

Through AmeriCorps, I received training I most likely would not have been exposed to
otherwise. I learned basic and intermediate grant writing skills, how to network, OSHA
(Occupational Safety and Health Association) construction safety, basic construction
and landscaping skills, leadership training, how to drive box trucks and commercial
vans, and CPR/First Aid certification.

By far the most valuable and rewarding training I received was for American Red Cross
disaster response. I am now a member of DAT, my local Disaster Action Team. We
respond to fires, floods, and other natural disasters within our county. Red Cross is the
only outside organization approved to help families with immediate displacement needs:
Food, clothing, and shelter. This makes my commitment even more important, because,
without us, the affected people would have no support.

Despite the numerous frustrations I encountered this year, I know I made the right
choice by serving with WNY AmeriCorps. My term of service has been the most
meaningful year of my life. Iʼve always been a volunteer, but this year has truly affected
me in more ways than I can count. I, with my team, have truly made a difference, and
helped hundreds of people. The people I helped changed my life as I changed theirs.

The patience I have gained this year has even allowed me to seriously consider a
career field I had previously thought was inaccessible to me: education. Iʼve always
believed in service learning, but now I view it as an important part of education reform in
America. It is invaluable and currently undervalued.

In my college admissions essay, for fall 2009 admission, I wrote that “Iʼm that girl”, the
one who always knew she wanted to be a doctor. Since then, my dream of being a
pediatric neurosurgeon has not been ruled out, but this year has opened my mind to so
many other career paths; everything from librarian to farmer, from refugee services
advocate to CEO of a not-for-profit, from environmentalist to journalist.

This past year I spent the majority of my time engaged in the two activities which I most
enjoy - learning and helping people. Now, there is no doubt what my next step is: Go to
college. I want to continue my formal education to truly harness my full ability to help
those in need. I am ready to immerse myself in learning.

...And it has made - it will make - all the difference.