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 my contribution to society and my purpose in life. Around two weeks after epiphany, I received an email for AmeriCorps asking if I would be interested in sacrificing a year of my life (physically, mentally, and financially) to serve an impoverished community. I had always been an admirer of indigenous cultures of this land so I picked a community project being offered though the boys and girls club on the Northern Cheyenne reservation in Montana. Being a city boy born in Chicago and raised in Atlanta, I was a little nervous dedicating a year of my life in a very different state and culture but the kid and adventurer in me was excited for the challenge.

The first 3 months was difficult to say the least. The adjustment was intense and fun. Learned a lot about my own thoughts and feelings. Learned to be more open and flexible in life. I was embraced by the community after I got out of my own way by engaging and learning new and different viewpoints and ways to live in this world. I was responsible for creating events and camps for the kids at the B&G club including nature hunts, NASA robotic classes, Art shows, and more. The club still puts on the art show ANNUALLY. My biggest accomplishment. Once my year of service was coming to an end, I decided that I had so much fun learning and living for others I decided to do another tour of VISTA. Lucky for me, there was another VISTA program in the most northern city in the USA, Barrow, Alaska. This project asked that I serve in a coordinator position that encouraged healthier eating for the indigenous people of the artic circle.

My service year in Alaska was the best. First time seeing a polar bear, northern lights, seals, whales, and walruses. I even got a chance to pull a 22-ton whale on to a beach shore. The year flew by with much learned and experienced. I was having so much fun that I decided to try my amazing luck one more time. So I chose to serve in Montana with Montana Campus Compact my final year of service as a VISTA is Poplar, MT. 3 years of service has created in me a sense of humbleness, gratitude and confidence that may have never been discovered without the opportunity granted to me by the AmeriCorps VISTA service. Even though I didn’t gain much (at all) financially. The experience alone has made me a valuable employee/entrepreneur but also has made me a more genuine and generous human being.

Written by Amon Barry a.k.a., Prof. Barry