Jonathan Carter
AmeriCorps College Coach Senior Leader, University of Montana
Secret Crushong
AmeriCorps College Coach, Fort Peck Community College
Noell Evans
AmeriCorps VISTA, City of Red Lodge
Jonny Dugger
AmeriCorps VISTA, Snqweylmistn
Serena Gardner
AmeriCorps VISTA, WELL Women’s Business Center, University of Montana
Olivia Holstine
AmeriCorps VISTA, Fort Peck Tribes Office of Environmental Protection
Zainab Jamal
AmeriCorps College Coach, Broader Impacts Group, University of Montana
Laurie Koepplin
AmeriCorps College Coach, University of Montana Western
Grace Lowery
AmeriCorps VISTA, Historical Museum at Fort Missoula
Joanna Massier
AmeriCorps VISTA, National Center for Appropriate Technology
Allie Nawrocki
AmeriCorps VISTA, The Science Mine in Butte, Montana
Almeida Paroubek
AmeriCorps VISTA, Native American Achievement Center, Montana State University Billings
Anya Smith
AmeriCorps VISTA, Women’s Entrepreneurship and Leadership Lab (WELL)
Anna Waller
AmeriCorps College Coach, Salish Kootenai College
Emma Burck
AmeriCorps VISTA, Montana DEQ Energy Office
Bella Easley
AmeriCorps College Coach, Cultivating Connections, University of Montana
Kenneth Edmo
AmeriCorps College Coach, Indigenous Research and STEM Education (IRSE), University Of Montana
Katherine Fazekas
AmeriCorps VISTA, Park County Environmental Council
Sarah Grissom
AmeriCorps VISTA, Accelerate Montana’s Rural Innovation Initiative
Amelia Huba
AmeriCorps VISTA, Bozeman Public Schools, Montana State University Bozeman
Ethan Krenzer
AmeriCorps VISTA, Moving Mountains Foundation
Raymond Knight
AmeriCorps College Coach, Miles Community College
Liv Sorenson
AmeriCorps VISTA, The Root and Bloom Collective, Montana Technological University
Robyn Michalec
AmeriCorps VISTA Leader, Montana Campus Compact, University of Montana
Griffin Seyfried
AmeriCorps VISTA, Student Engagement Office, Montana State University Bozeman
Matt Sjogren
AmeriCorps VISTA, Bozeman School District
Francine Tageant
AmeriCorps College Coach, University of Montana
Xavier Xtravaganza
AmeriCorps College Coach, TRIO-Upward Bound, University of Montana
Member Monthly Highlights
On Belonging by Amber Peretz | September 16, 2022
Tomorrow will be my 29th birthday. September 14th. This time last year I was moving out of my apartment in St. Petersburg, Florida and preparing to move to Montana where an AmeriCorps VISTA position was waiting for me at the MSU Billings Native American Achievement Center… Read more
Rollercoaster of Service by Rylie Yaeger | October 11, 2022
This service year has had its ups and downs, but resulted in unexpected victories. When I first began my term, my supervisor told me, “You will have ups and downs during service. It is normal and everyone goes through it.” As a former AmeriCorps member, she really knew what doing a service year means mentally. Her words have stuck with me for the almost 11 months… Read More
Supporting Entrepreneurship in Montana by Sarah Grissom | November 17, 2022
Serving with Accelerate Montana’s Rural Innovation Initiative (AMRII) has exposed me to the importance of supporting local businesses and entrepreneurship throughout Montana. Stimulating the local economy through business by providing support is important but not the only component that helps businesses… Read More
Finding My Way In Service by Emily Montalvo | December 1, 2022
My time as a VISTA has been, overall, an extremely rewarding experience that has taught me a lot about both my local community and myself. I am serving with the Rural Institute of Inclusive Communities, which promotes equal opportunity… Read more
Reflection on My Journey by Anna Waller | December 12, 2022
It has been more than six weeks now since I started my service term as a Montana Campus Compact AmeriCorps College Coach, and I have learned a lot, although I have only just begun. It is my pleasure to be serving the community through Salish Kootenai College’s Upward Bound… Read more
Embracing Your Fear by Allie Nawrocki | December 16, 2022
Let me set the scene for you. It is August 2022, and I was about to leave my Midwest home. With it, I would be leaving everything I knew behind. At first, I was thinking I was crazy, flying to a place I had never been before. I had so much anxiety doing it by myself, and… Read more
My Experience With Service by Francine Tageant | December 29, 2022
I was first introduced to AmeriCorps when a friend of mine decided to serve in Bellingham, Washington. She was serving at a middle school helping tutor students who had fallen behind in school. I can remember how excited she was when one or more of her students would begin to… Read more
When Entrepreneurship Is Necessary by Anya Smith | January 30, 2023
“Men start businesses because they have an idea or an opportunity, women start businesses because they have to.” This (or something close) was said at the first full staff meeting I attended for the Women’s Entrepreneurship and Leadership Lab… Read more
Talk, Talk, Talk by Olivia Holstine | February 8, 2023
When starting in an AmeriCorps position, and as we do our service, we get a lot of really good advice. It’s usually putting it into practice that can be hard – weather, location, resources, time, etc. All manner of things can work against us. And the projects are going to be frustrating. There… Read more
On Community by Amelia Huba | February 10, 2023
Reading through the archives of MTCC blog posts, there is a stark theme of loneliness/lack of community/feeling unmoored. While AmeriCorps advertises that its programs are community-based and discusses providing opportunities for members… Read more
Looking Back On My First Half Of AmeriCorps Service by Katherine Fazekas | February 14, 2023
On August 10th, 2022, I packed my car to begin a 5 day solo journey from Boston, MA to Missoula, MT for pre-service orientation with Montana Campus Compact. Though I had never been to Montana, I eagerly accepted a position as a VISTA with Park County Environmental Council in… Read more
Peeling Back The Layers Of Culture Shock by Raymond Knight | February 17, 2023
While conducting my research for this assignment, I remember thinking that acclimating to this new environment would be a breeze – that I would hit the ground running and adjust with a quickness, from the giddyup. After all, I have lived all over these united states, and through the years visited over… Read more
On The Fort Peck Reservation by Secret Crushong | March 22, 2023
My first task as an AmeriCorps College Coach on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation was to get to know the students I would serve throughout my time at Poplar High School. To achieve this, I surveyed the junior and senior classes’ interests, skills, and experiences. Using the information collected from… Read more
My Search For Purpose by Noell Evans | March 24, 2023
Right after I graduated college, I thought I knew exactly what career path I wanted to pursue. I had always been interested in politics both foreign and domestic, and I had always been interested in foreign languages and culture, so it seemed a natural and logical conclusion that I pursue a career in foreign… Read more
A Journey To Self Confidence by Serena Gardner | March 28, 2023
Serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA at The Women’s Entrepreneurial and Leadership Lab Women’s Business Center (WELL WBC), I am learning valuable lessons about seeking help and perseverance. I am a North Carolina native but spent time growing up in Portland, Oregon before making… Read more
Trusting The Process And Finding Balance In Service by Matt Sjogren | May 1, 2023
As I reflect on my eight and a half months of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA with Bozeman Public Schools, I have learned valuable lessons about mindset and the importance of finding balance. I grew up in Bend, Oregon before heading to Middlebury College in Vermont where I studied… Read more
My Two Year Reflection by Ethan Krenzer | June 6, 2023
Two years serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA member in Butte, Montana, it has been a tough but rewarding experience. Moving from Orange County, California in Summer 2021, the opportunity to assist two different nonprofit organizations and learn from their talented and compassionate team members… Read more
Exploring, Developing, and Announcing Career Opportunities At The University Of Montana Western And Beyond By Laurie Koepplin | June 16, 2023
As I read other members’ blogs, it occurs to me that my experience in AmeriCorps looks different than theirs. Principally, I’m close to home in Dillon, Montana. Furthermore, I began this term in April because the position was initially unfilled in the fall. Finally, I stayed in education, my field of interest. I enjoy mentoring, advising, and coaching students… Read more
Battling The Jelly Monster By Zainab Jamal | July 11, 2023
I was in the midst of a battle with the Jelly Monster. Side effects included staying in bed all day, playing Tetris, watching Twitch for the hours I was awake, and feeling complacent with where I was at the time. Why pursue my goals when the jelly was all-consuming—it didn’t matter what actions I took, I would eventually… Read more
Wrapping Up And Reflecting Back On Service By Noell Evans | July 21, 2023
With this month being my last full month of service, I have had to face some daunting realities that I have put off reflecting on up until this point — primarily, what do I have to show for all the work that I have accomplished? Entering my mid-twenties, I have been taking more time to think about… Read more
Right On By Amelia Huba | August 1, 2023
August, 2023 already! Thinking about this time last year highlights how far I’ve come and just how much this first year has changed me. In August of 2022, I was planning my move across the country to a state I’d never visited to work and live with complete strangers. I was really excited about my… Read more
The Importance Of Education Exposure For Children In Need By Kenneth Edmo | August 1, 2023
I was born and raised in Montana, spending most of my life on the Flathead Reservation. I have always been interested in ecology and wildlife. I graduated from Salish Kootenai College with a degree in wildlife and fisheries and eventually received a master’s degree in resource conservation at… Read more
On Remembering By Robyn Michalec | August 4, 2023
Sometimes I think I am too nostalgic for my own good. I have the tendency to lean heavily on the fact that moments are fleeting– that the moment they happen, they’ll never happen again in the exact same way. Slowly they’ll fade until they’re just vague outlines of a time and place you once were. I… Read more
I’m Not The Assistant By Laurie Koepplin | August 18, 2023
When I began my first term of AmeriCorps service on April 4th, I was given a desk and space outside of the Director of Student Success’s office. People would walk into the Multicultural Center (where his office is located) and assume I was his personal assistant. He or she would ask, “When will the director be back?” “Will you take a message?”… Read more