As I surge into my 5th month of what truly has been a spectacular AmeriCorps VISTA service term at the Montana Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education (OCHE), I am struck by how the experience has given me a detailed look at the gears of change.

Ever since an enthralling AP US History class, during my junior year of high school, “change” has been a topic at the center of my intellectual crosshairs. How do we genuinely, markedly improve society? This question was at the center of my passion for Keynesian economics that I found in that AP US History classroom, and has driven my most fulfilling academic and professional endeavors to date, from studying the power of international institutions in college to investigating employment discrimination at the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission).

All the experience that I have had so far has given me valuable information about this mercurial commodity “change.” I have learned the intellectual theories that if applied can bring it about, and about well-crafted laws that respect civil rights and human rights that can sculpt an ideal society. But also, I have learned that for “change” mere ideology is not enough, there is always a point where the “rubber meets the road” and utopic thought must meet and wrestle with the ground reality. This happens, for example, when beautiful, high-minded international human rights norms are compromised by sovereign states prioritizing a vital interest.

At OCHE, I am lucky to be at that exact place where “the rubber meets the road.” OCHE, the system office for the Montana University System, uniquely exists at a praxis, in which we both have the ability to generate and implement initiatives to better the lives of Montana University students. The OCHE division within which I serve, Academic, Research and Student Affairs (ARSA) boasts a number of initiatives to benefit Montana university students on a system-level, from K-12 access programs such as GEAR-UP and TRIO and the expansion of Dual Enrollment programs to a variety of programs designed to enhance college student success. I fit into the milieu in that my VISTA project is dedicated to working on system initiatives to better Mental Health and Wellness across the Montana University System.

What have my months immersed in my VISTA term taught me about change so far? First, it is important to know and leverage the right mediums. In my first month of my VISTA term, as I researched collegiate mental health and wellness initiatives I felt somewhat adrift. Here I was finding a host of excellent programs, building a knowledge base, but it was difficult to conceive how these ideas could translate into deliverables at OCHE. Over time what I came to realize, was that these ideas were translated best by being aware of and utilizing existing means of implementation. In effect, this has meant looking to incorporate mental health & wellness considerations into existing OCHE initiatives, such as GEAR-UP, and leveraging relationships that OCHE already has, such as with NASPA (The National Association of Student Affairs Professionals) and with particularly strong campus contacts.

Second, “change,” even large-scale, is about the little things. It is built on the bulwark of a number of small acts, a clean follow-up email here, a conversation to bolster a productive, professional relationship there.

And third, and related, change necessitates patience. Goals and dreams can, and probably should range big, but one must, and this service term has taught me this, be patient on how fast one gets there. Bureaucracy is slow, its slowness exponentially multiplied when it necessitates involving numerous other organizations as OCHE must: 11 different campuses and the Board of Regents among others. But I have learned to find comfort in the little things and know that by the end of my term, and indeed by the end of the workday, that I will have made a real difference.