By Isabella Culver | May 5, 2025 I’m 24 going on 25 years old and shocker–I still don’t know what I want to do or where I want to end up. This is my second year of AmeriCorps service, and as the days go on, I constantly think about where I would be if AmeriCorps didn’t exist. After graduating college in the Spring of 2023, I had a degree in Geography but not a clue in the world about where it could take me. The possibility of living in a new place and helping people for a temporary amount of time sounded like music to my ears. AmeriCorps was an opportunity to get myself out of my comfort zone and explore career options while I’m still figuring things out.
In my opinion, it’s totally okay to not know what I want to do with my life. As I’m navigating service, I am coming to realize that I don’t want to find just one thing “I want to do with my life”. Why can’t we have a variety of career goals that don’t necessarily align with one another? Why do we feel the pressure to pick a lane and then work really hard at that one thing? While this kind of linear path aligns with some people’s future ambitions, I don’t believe that lifestyle is for me. The idea of confining myself to one profession or one kind of career path makes me anxious. Counterintuitively, I find the most comfort in not knowing what my future will be once my AmeriCorps service is complete. This mindset of finding comfort in the unknown also might be a phase of mine, or maybe it’s something about me that will never change–not knowing this also brings me some sort of weird comfort and ease.
The kind of temporary commitment that AmeriCorps brings to the table is just my speed. I can try something new, live in a new place, meet new people, and learn some new things about myself and explore the environment around me. And then, after a finite amount of time, I’m ready to make my next decision–whatever that may be.
My first term of AmeriCorps service was a VISTA position at the United Way of Rutland County in Rutland, Vermont. Through this term I was able to learn about building relationships in a community, fundraising strategies, and event planning frameworks–all while eating copious amounts of maple syrup. It was a solid balance of responsibility with low-stakes. I was able to dip my toes in many buckets while helping run a non-profit organization. If mistakes were made, it was already part of the plan–incredible! The exposure I received from my service year is something that I truly hold close to my heart. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to continue my AmeriCorps experience, only in a slightly different context.
As we speak, I am in the midst of my second term, now serving at MCNCE in Missoula as a Senior Leader. This position is very different from my Vermont VISTA experience in many ways–it’s incredible the amount of range AmeriCorps service terms can have. While VISTAS are primarily focused on indirect service and capacity building, my service at MCNCE as a Senior Leader is definitely more hands-on in terms of member support, management, and development. Outside of service, I have been thoroughly enjoying myself in my new zip code–so much so that I am thinking about staying in the Missoula area for my next career move. I cannot stress enough my appreciation and love for the AmeriCorps network and organization as a whole. The people I have met along the way are truly compassionate souls with burning passions for exploration. Their unwavering drive to give back keeps me going!