For just over two months now I have been serving at Montana Tech in Butte, Montana. This is not new territory for me; I was born and raised in Anaconda, MT just 20 miles away. After completing a first term of service last year in Havre, MT I wasn’t sure I wanted to complete a second. However, I felt it was my “duty” to perform one more round of AmeriCorps service – specifically at this site.

I was raised in a low-income household and neither of my parents went to college. As a result, I was never sure I would go to college, let alone afford the high costs of schooling myself or even with help of my family. College was not necessarily something I thought could or would be in my future. Then one day in the sixth grade, a woman named Holly came to my school. She was bearing candy and applications for a program called “Talent Search.” She ensured us that this was not for a talent show, but was for those of us that thought we might want to go college one day. So I signed up. I was accepted and was able to visit UM and MSU on trips where I didn’t have to pay anything. It was AWESOME.

Fast forward to high school. I was approached by a man named Brandon McLean. He said he knew I was in Talent Search and that he ran a program called Upward Bound that was similar to Talent Search, and he thought that I would be a good fit. Another application and an acceptance letter later, I was in TRIO Upward Bound and moving toward the goal of completing high school and applying for college.

I am telling this story because now I am serving with the same TRIO programs from which I am an alumnus. When I was investigating AmeriCorps sites to serve I was originally set on leaving Montana, but then I saw the listing for Tech. My head and heart were suddenly screaming at me that I could not walk away from this. AmeriCorps members helped me on my way to adulthood and college alike through serving through TRIO programs. I needed to pay that forward and give back to those that had given me all of the amazing opportunities that I would otherwise have undoubtedly never had. I would not have been afforded the experiences that were given to me. Without these programs I would not be who I am today, and I owe them more than I will ever be able to pay back.

Now I find myself back in my old communities bringing upwards of 70 students on college visits. I am helping with numerous FAFSAs, and filling out what seems like hundreds of college applications. I have become someone who has to be a hard a** and kick some butts to show some of my students their potential. I have become someone who is becoming an expert in all levels of high school math. I have become a shoulder to cry on, a trusted confidant, and a cheerleader. I am exhausted and the work seems to never end. It seems like there are always “fires” large and small that need attention, but I am not complaining. This service position gives me purpose. For what may be the first time in my “working” life I wake up and want to go to my “job.” I love every student that I work with (even the incredibly difficult ones), and I am increasingly excited to see what they will do when they leave this program, just like I did.