Tag: 2020-2021

My final year of high school I had to take a senior level government class to meet the social studies requirement per the Rapid City Area Schools district policies. I remember being in a classroom taught by the head football coach at the time. His classroom was in the freshman wing, on the ground floor, which…

I was a proprietary trader for a company in Atlanta. Nice paying job. Nice crib and all. I was getting paid very well but I was filling empty inside and living selfishly. I decided to ask the universe to provide an opportunity to do something more fulfilling. Something that will make me feel better about…

Hi! My name is Kim, and I am an MTCC VISTA member serving at 100 Fold Studio. I have now had the opportunity to serve at 100 Fold as an Americorps State member multiple times and now I am serving here as a VISTA member. 100 Fold Studio is an international, nonprofit architecture firm investing…

I have been reflecting on my past 9 months in Missoula and thinking a lot about the power of time. Time can heal. Time allows for growth, understanding, and building connections. When I first moved to Missoula I was skeptical if it would ever feel like home. Like most good things, it took time for…

This past year has been a whirlwind; it just feels like it has flown by. And now it is time for me to think about what is next, and that is very scary. However, I wouldn’t have figured out what I possibly want to do without this service year. The pandemic has affected everyone in…

Riding the metro home from work in Virginia, on my way back to my apartment in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington D.C., I rested my head against an oil smudged window, and thought “is this really what life as a college graduate is like, is this all it will be from here on out?”…

My entry in to national service came with the coalescence of massive forces in my life, the inescapable shadow of the global Covid-19 pandemic, the search for direction that accompanies a young graduates life after a constant experience in the education system, my drive for social justice, and my desire to redefine myself in my…

I have always dreamed of being an educator. I wanted to be an educator to make a difference and change some lives. When educating, you can often see the impact you are having. You see scores improve, essays get better, and you hear the students’ tell you about their learning. This makes the hard days…

Hey Y’all! My name is Hollis Hubbard and I am serving my second term as a VISTA in beautiful Missoula. I’m originally from Kentucky but my lifelong love for mountains and wilderness brought me out west in 2018 after graduating from college. My favorite things are camping, hiking, skiing, and taking pictures of my constant…

The handwritten caption read “MLK Read for Peace 2020”, describing a photo featuring then governor of Montana Steve Bullock, shaking hands and meeting with an AmeriCorps MTCC service member who was running him through the plan for that event.  It was displayed on my 2nd floor cubicle wall at the Department of Labor and Industry in…

I loved college. Growing up: my mother didn’t send me to bed with fairy tales. Instead she sang me to sleep with the enchanting, alluring stories of “the college days”. I understand many hear the phrase “college days” and a hundred different visuals of partying gone astray enters their mind. But that isn’t how my mother sold…

Hi everyone! My name is Emma and I am from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. That’s only 2 and half hours away from Missoula, but surprisingly I had spent very little time in Montana before I made the move. Before I started my service with AmeriCorps, I was a tad bit farther away than Idaho. I was…

My path to serving with AmeriCorps wasn’t a straight one- nor has it been one I would have expected. Last year this time I was offered a position serving in North Macedonia with the Peace Corps. I don’t think I could have known what the year would hold; I certainly didn’t expect a pandemic, or…

It’s 8:00. Time to wake up. Since last March, the COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged many lives in many ways around the world and here in Montana. As I write this, the most updated numbers are reporting that 75 of my fellow Missoulians have died. 1,152 Montanans, including 64 residents in my hometown of Butte, have…

Time’s linear pattern as a force always moving forward feels like it may be the last concept we can depend upon as a consistent reality of life. All other contributing theories that keep the earth spinning have cracked and disintegrated thanks to our new friend Covid-19. Our perspective of equality has been challenged, our economic…

One morning I woke up and glanced over to my window. To my surprise, I noticed how my favorite plant, my golden photos, was dying. An upset feeling washed over me. How was this possible if yesterday she was perfectly normal? I watered her regularly, sang to her, and made sure she received any available…

After being pulled out of service in the Peace Corps Philippines with such short notice due to covid -19. I somehow, and somewhere between the months of quarantine decided it seemed right to finish another year of service. Initially I sought out to do two years with the Peace Corps. However, due to the pandemic…

My final year of high school I had to take a senior level government class to meet the social studies requirement per the Rapid City Area Schools district policies. I remember being in a classroom taught by the head football coach at the time.His classroom was in the freshman wing, on the ground floor, which meant…

I never thought that my service year in Butte, MT would turn out the way it has so far. When I arrived in Butte, it was a super lovely day with breathtaking views and not a cloud in sight. Months later, the weather is below freezing most days, snow/ice on the ground, but the sun…

How much do you think Google searches for the topic “loneliness” have gone up in the U.S. since COVID hit? The person I was a year ago would have chuckled darkly, said “a lot,” and left it at that. But I’ve learned there’s more answers out there than you’d think since then, and so I…