Tag: 2023-2024

In researching and developing a community resilience guide, my service has taken me to some unexpected places. From city and county board meetings to cat sterilization clinics, I could never have predicted the experiences my service would provide to me. More importantly, my participation in various community organizations and government processes has allowed me to…

Well, here we are. Just over 2 years since I arrived. 25 months of learning, growing, frustration, uncertainty, excitement, and joy. As usual, I struggled with what to talk about and then ended up with a three part dissertation on my feelings. Let’s go!

As my time in Butte draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on the past year with a mix of emotions. It’s not totally unlike wrapping up a day down in the shaft — covered in a layer of grit but with a few hidden strands of silver stuck to my bootstrap. Leaving a…

Upon accepting the offer to perform a year of national service in Livingston, Montana, I quickly realized how troubled the market for housing was. Most of the rental units had sky-high rent in the thousands of dollars that would have accounted for all of my living stipend on their own. Luckily, I was able to…

I am an AmeriCorps VISTA currently in my second term at the Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes’ Office of Environmental Protection in northeast Montana. My project is to assist in the creation of a Climate Change Adaptation/Resilience Plan for the Tribes.

This week in national service, I became a Certified Interpretive Guide. It’s an official declaration that I learned how to structure interpretive experiences and talks at museums and galleries; which I think will be useful to reworking the volunteer museum docent training materials at my service site. My class took a trip to the MMAC…

When asked, “what is the first sign you look for in order to learn about an ancient civilization?” Rather than giving the typical response – tools or articles of clothing for example, celebrated anthropologist Dr. Margaret Mead replied, “a healed femur!” Her rationale was that when someone breaks a femur, they can’t hunt, fish, properly function in…

I joined AmeriCorps with a strong desire to immerse myself in a new community, foster lasting connections, and make a meaningful impact through a year of service. Over the past nine months, I have had the privilege of engaging with a diverse group of students, ranging from ninth graders to second-year college graduates and individuals…

The other day, I had a moment of reflection and surprise as I was playing soccer with our middle and high school refugee boys after school. It was a gorgeous day and as I was running around laughing and playing with these sweet kids, I just had a moment of “How is this my life??”…

I haven’t slept all that well lately. I blame the railroad. Since I arrived here in Havre, the “Crown Jewel of the Hi-line”, I’ve listened to the trains roar through town nearly every night. I live near the train station which serves as the hub for the town’s primary industry. Havre has always been a…

In less than four months, I will no longer be an AmeriCorps VISTA. For me, this is a monumental, world-shifting change. I think it’s due to the fact that every second I’ve been in Montana, my identity has been related to being a VISTA. But it’s time. The legacy binder for this service site is…

Find the people getting things done and join them. (Insight from Symposium in Helena.) The reasons for doing AmeriCorps are as varied as the people in it. Many positions have a set service description, but it will not cover all of the things you could be doing.  There is also some flexibility to tailor the…

As I sat down with Dr. Cory Sonnemann and Dr. Doug Coe at Vu Villa pizza last October, I already knew that this casual meeting would mark the beginning of an enlightening journey in Butte. I was still trying to play it cool, they had a whole sales pitch ready for me and I’m not…

As the snow melts and the days lengthen here in Bozeman, my journey with AmeriCorps VISTA has unfolded with new endeavors, personal achievements, and the ever-present spirit of community engagement. The past few months have been a whirlwind of activity, stretching my skills and deepening my ties to this vibrant community.

Prior to beginning my service as an AmeriCorps volunteer at Soft Landing Missoula, a non-profit organization that supports refugee and immigrant families in the local community, my work experiences were largely clinical in nature. I came to Montana with a very specific idea of what direct care and service looked like, and I had strong…

I began my service at Dawson Community College in Glendive, Montana in February. Being from Baton Rouge, Louisiana it has taken some time to get use to the cold and snow.  I am adapting very well. For the past six weeks, I have had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know our eight students…

Welcome to AmeriCorps, fellow members! If this is your first time serving, I am sure you are ignited with fiery passion and unwavering dedication to get to work! Yes! That’s the spirit! Well, you better be prepared to answer 20+ times what AmeriCorps is about. The official response is: “AmeriCorps is a national service program…

Big Bluestem- We’re putting together a native garden at my service site. If this works out the way I hope, it may be the longest lasting project I complete here. With any luck, three years from now the students here will have their own source of juneberries and sweetgrass, and will be able to learn…

Choices, fundamental to liberal societies, are intricately linked to autonomy, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness. The proliferation of options available to students not only defines their academic journey but also impacts the broader societal landscape. In this context, examining the concept of choice becomes pivotal for institutions like colleges, universities, and organizations such as…

For the last time I wrote a blog post, I talked about making a difference.  I stated that making a difference was done through relentless discipline, doing a little something all the time to make a big change in the future. The work I do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis was meant to…