Accepting Accountability Without Blame by Joanna Massier
Joanna is a VISTA serving with Park County Environmental Council in Livingston 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 find a room to rent in a shared housing unit in what was until recently, a hospital. This was how I ended up with five men for roommates. This soon presented a new…
Feedback is Good, Actually by Olivia Holstine
Olivia is a VISTA serving with Fort Peck Tribes Office of Environmental Protections at Fort Peck Community College 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. Being in my second year, there are a couple of things I’ve learned that I hope might help other prospective corps members. The two I’m focusing on are related to handling criticism, as I recently had to do so myself. …
A Farewell to the Treasure State by Liv Sorenson
Liv is serving as a VISTA at the Clark Chateau in Butte, MT 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 (Montana Museum of Arts and Culture) in Missoula as part of the course. It was there that I came across “Animals Crossing a Bridge” by the 19th Century French painter Jules Dupre….
Believing is Seeing by Ray Knight
Reunited States: Building Connections in a Disconnected World. 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 a society, or thrive unless they have help from others. For Dr. Mead, a healed femur indicated that someone identified with, and helped that person rather than abandoning them, placing self over service. AmeriCorps. In…
The Value of Service by Gabriela Rodriguez-Velez
Gabriela is an AmeriCorps College Coach at Blackfeet Community College. 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 returning to education later in life. This experience has reinforced my belief that service to the community, especially to those in greater need, is a fundamental responsibility that everyone should undertake at some point in…
The Importance of Community by Lindsey Hundemer
Lindsey Hundemer is an AmeriCorps College Coach serving at the International Rescue Committee in Missoula. 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??” How did a freshly graduated girl from the South end up here? Although I may never know how I ended up moving to Montana and working with the greatest community…
Hi-Line Insomnia by Nick Bennett
Nick Bennett is a VISTA serving with Opportunity Link in Havre, MT. 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 railroad town, owing its title to the Hi-Line railway, the United States’ northernmost transcontinental railroad which starts in Saint Paul, Minnesota and runs all the way to Seattle, Washington. Thus Havre, in the…
On Change by Amelia Huba
Amelia is an AmeriCorps VISTA member serving with the Bozeman School District 7 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 jam-packed with nostalgia. Email addresses of contacts in other organizations, affordable and wonderful places to visit, the site supervisor’s birthday – all the important bits. If a VISTA fills this position, I…
Why I am an AmeriCorps Volunteer by Laurie Koepplin
Laurie Koepplin is an AmeriCorps College Coach serving at University of Montana Western. 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 position to your skills and goals. There are also many versions of AmeriCorps. In Montana we have AgCorps, Conservation Corps, Watershed Corps, National Service, Fish, Wildlife and Parks AmeriCorps, Campus Compact, Rural…
“But That’s How It’s Always Been”: My Journey in Butte, Montana by Brandon Rubertus
Brandon is a VISTA serving with the Science Mine in Butte, MT 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 the type to burst anyone’s bubble. And while they did speak of the uphill challenge awaiting me at the Science Mine, a hands-on science discovery center that I would soon be calling home,…
Feeling Like a Bozeman Community Member by Griffin Seyfried
Griffin Seyfried is a VISTA serving with MSU Bozeman’s Student Engagement Office, Bozeman, MT 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. CatCab: Steering Towards Safer Nights One of the most exciting projects on my plate has been advising the MSU student government in the creation of CatCab, a new safe ride program designed to ensure students…
The Soft Landing Community by Kathleen Lovett
Kathleen Lovett is an AmeriCorps College Coach serving at Soft Landing Missoula. 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 skills in adhering to HIPAA laws, maintaining therapeutic boundaries, and preserving a healthy work/life balance. Though these skills have been helpful while working in the Youth Program at Soft Landing, I have realized…
Dawson Promise by Ryan Slaton
Ryan Slaton is an AmeriCorps College Coach serving at Dawson Promise. 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 in our program. Dawson Promise provides services for students facing homelessness, unaccompanied, or have aged out of foster care. The program gives these students the chance to earn an associate’s degree free of charge….
Sink-or-swim; My easy three-rule to surviving a year of AmeriCorps service by Emma Burck
Emma is a VISTA serving with DEQ Energy Office in Helena Introduction 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 that aims to address critical community needs and promote social justice, through civic engagement, volunteer mobilization, and partnerships with local organizations.” Or…you can summarize it in one sentence: “Well, it’s sort of like…
Poaceae – Planting for the Future by Almeida Paroubek
Almeida is a VISTA serving with the Native American Achievement Center at MSU Billings 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 about native pollinators and the importance of protecting them. Little Bluestem- It’s not something a lot of people asked for, though. Honestly, sometimes it feels like there’s only three or four…
What Is a Student? by Parag Desai
Parag Desai is an AmeriCorps College Coach serving at Flathead Valley Community College. 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 Campus Compact. To fulfill our goals of civic engagement, student success, and responsiveness, we must delve into the decisions students make, the options presented, and the resulting human activity that contribute to…
Serving with TRIO by Alex Lee
Alex Lee is an AmeriCorps College Coach serving at Fort Peck Community College. 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 be beneficial for the people in the Native American community. However, making a difference is harder than it seems. There are roadblocks and missteps that have happened which were my fault. The…
Service at Blackfeet Community College by Gabriela Rodriguez-Velez
Gabriela is an AmeriCorps College Coach serving at Blackfeet Community College. I began my service at Blackfeet Community College in Browning, Montana in September. For the past five to six months, I have had the pleasure of getting to know this community on the reservation. One of my favorite things about service so far has been getting to know a whole new culture and the people in it. One of the most gratifying aspects of immersing oneself in a new community is the opportunity to forge genuine connections with people from different backgrounds. Each interaction becomes a doorway to unraveling…
A Year in Review, Halfway Through by Olivia Holstine
Olivia is a VISTA serving with Fort Peck Tribe’s Office of Environmental Protections at Fort Peck Community College Here at the start of my second year at my host site, it’s interesting to look back and take stock of where I am now and what I need to do. My project is helping the Fort Peck Tribes in Montana develop a Climate Resilience Plan*. For context, climate resilience positions are newer to VISTA, but predate the new American Climate Corps. It’s been a learning experience for everyone involved. AmeriCorps VISTA is still learning how to adapt their job descriptions and…
A Farewell to Service by Ethan Krenzer
Ethan is an AmeriCorps VISTA member serving with The Moving Mountains Foundation in Missoula, MT. Now six months into my third year with AmeriCorps Montana as a VISTA, sharing my experience in the program is something I have attempted to do in the past. The opportunity to serve with three separate nonprofit organizations has been a great opportunity to give back. While the experience has made me a better team member, given the numerous needs of residents, it has not always been easy to help my host organizations fulfill or live up to their mission or vision statements. From isolation,…