Escape the Ordinary - November 2012
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Transcript of Escape the Ordinary - November 2012
Escape the
Ordinary November 2012
Volume 3, Issue 8
AMERICORPS
NCCC
All About NCCC
ESCAPE THE ORDINARY
AmeriCorps NCCC is a full-time, team-based residential program for men and
women ages 18-24. NCCC members are assigned to one of five campuses and
organized into teams of 10-12 members. Campuses are located in Perry Point, MD; Vinton, IA; Denver, CO; Vicksburg, MS; and
Sacramento, CA. NCCC teams serve approximately 4-6 projects throughout their ten months of service. NCCC serves every
state, responding to pressing local needs that are identified by organizations in the community. Projects are focused on the following five categories – Natural and
Other Disasters, Infrastructure
Improvement, Environmental Stewardship and Conservation, Energy Conservation, and Urban and Rural Development. 100 percent
of members are certified in CPR, first aid, and disaster response; approximately 9% are firefighter trained by the National Park and
U.S. Forest Services. NCCC teams also support local disaster relief organizations to help communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural or man-made
disasters. Since September 2005, NCCC members from all campuses have served
more than 9.6 million hours on 5,035 projects.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Leave Your Mark: A FEMA Corps Member Spotlight 1
Getting Things Done: A Graduation Celebration 2
Boots on the Ground with Summit 7 3
Getting Things Done II: An Induction Celebration 4
Follow My Lead: An Alumni Perspective 5
The Application Process 7
VOLUME 3 , ISSUE 8
Leave Your Mark: A FEMA Corps Member Spotlight
How did you first learn about
AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps?
Initially, I was researching the Peace
Corps when I stumbled upon
AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps. FEMA
Corps caught my eye due to the
disaster-specific, domestic work
associated
with the
program.
Why did
you choose
to apply?
As a recent
college
graduate, I
decided I
had spent
plenty of time working on my mind—it
was time to work on my heart. FEMA
Corps acts as the perfect portal to
combine my schooling in Psychology
and Sociology, my professionalism, and
my benevolence into one commitment.
What has been one of your favorite
memories thus far?
Receiving the FEMA specialized training
in Anniston, Alabama was very
motivating for me; listening to the FEMA
officials speak of their real-life
interactions with disaster survivors, all
the while learning about the way FEMA
operates as an organization was
extremely interesting.
Tell us about something that you’ve
done for the first time since starting.
Coming from a rural community in
Indiana, I have never gone through a
natural disaster before. Pictures and
stories can only do so much to explain
the hardships these survivors endure in
their day-to-day lives. Working directly
with disaster survivors is truly an
inspiring opportunity; survivors who
have lost their own
belongings and
bearings are still out
assisting their
families, friends,
and
neighbors.
What has
been the
most
challenging
part of your
term of service thus far? How
have you worked to overcome
that challenge?
At times it is difficult to see the
effect that such minute things such
as checking one simple box can
have—the right boxes checked can be
one of the determining factors that lead
up to a disaster survivor obtaining a
place to live. I keep that notion in mind
and keep reminding myself that even
the smallest things can lead to making a
lasting impact.
Your term of service just started a few
months ago. What are some of your
goals as you progress through the
year?
I plan to build upon the knowledge I
have learned thus far, carrying my skills
with me from disaster to disaster. I also
hope to put my abilities to use in the
community—volunteering more of my
free time to other organizations and
agencies in the area.
And lastly, please share any advice
that you might have for prospective
Corps Members who are interested in
FEMA Corps.
Anyone who is interested in FEMA
Corps should definitely be willing to live
a life that is very different than the
norm—from living in ships to working 80
hours a week—every day brings
something new and challenging. You
must be “FEMA flexible”!
Page 1
This month’s FEMA Corps Member spotlight comes from Kelsey Stephens, currently serving at the Southern Region campus (Vicksburg, MS). A graduate of Ball State University, Kelsey studied Psychology, Sociology and Interpersonal Relations. Kelsey is a proud member of Bayou 6 and her team’s FEMA specialty role is Individual Assistance (IA). I spoke with Kelsey about her FEMA Corps experience and the great work that she and other members are providing to those in the NJ/NY area.
Kelsey (L) pictured with CNCS Director Wendy Spencer and FEMA Deputy Administrator Rich Serino.
Additional spotlights from FEMA Corps members can be found by
clicking on this link:
http://issuu.com/americorpsselectionplacement/docs/fema_cm_sp
otlights/1
to the 186 members from the North Central region who graduated on November 14,
2012 and the 137 members from the Atlantic Region who graduated on November 15,
2012. Welcome to the NCCC alumni family. Best of luck on your future endeavors.
ESCAPE THE ORDINARY Page 2
Atlantic Region North Central Region
Page 3
What were your team’s thoughts as
you arrived on site for your disaster
service assignment?
Our team was full of anticipation as we
arrived in New York City ready to help
those impacted by the storm, though not
quite sure what to expect.
What has been the most surprising
moment of your assignment thus far?
We are continually surprised, in the
most positive way possible, by the
amount of support being given to
impacted areas by other communities,
both from the city and elsewhere in the
country. We have visited distribution
centers and seen incredible amounts of
donations, and volunteers have come
from all over the country in order to
provide support.
What has been the most trying
moment?
Though we know our work is beneficial
and necessary to the recovery of the
community, we wish we could be doing
more to help people individually. Some
days its hard not to just stop what we're
doing, pick up some gloves, and help
people muck out their houses or clean
up their yards.
What was the most rewarding or
memorable moment?
You can't please everybody in any field
of work, and we have discovered that to
be the case, especially in disaster relief.
However, for every disgruntled
individual we may encounter, there is
also an appreciative one. Every time we
hear a “thank you” or “you're going a
good job”, it is the most rewarding
experience any of us could ask for.
You’re currently providing support to
those impacted by Hurricane Sandy.
Why do you feel that disaster relief
work is so important?
Before witnessing a disaster first hand, it
is hard to truly grasp the scope of
devastation. But now having seen homes
destroyed and people’s belongings
strewn out in yards and into the streets,
we are able to understand on a deeper
level how thoroughly the storm
impacted every aspect of a person's life.
Knowing this, you realize all that you
have to be thankful in your own life,
knowing your home and family are all
safe and sound. Those impacted aren't
all so lucky though, and because we
already have so much to be thankful for,
we want to work to restore what they lost
so one day they might be whole again.
And finally, what is one piece of
advice you would give to prospective
Corps Members interested in FEMA
Corps?
FEMA Corps is full of many unexpected
turns and surprises. From the start, no
one knew quite exactly what they had
signed themselves up for, and as time
goes on, we still are not always sure
what we are doing. This comes as a
challenge, but also as an opportunity to
grow, develop our leadership skills and
learn to become more self sufficient. The
best advice I could give to any
prospective Corps Member is be
prepared for change, because it is
guaranteed on a daily basis in FEMA
Corps.
...with Summit 7
Summit 7, a FEMA Corps team from the Southern Region
campus (Vicksburg, MS) is currently stationed in Staten
Island working with the Community Relations branch of
FEMA. They canvas neighborhoods providing residents
with information on how to register with FEMA and note
any critical needs observed. They also briefly worked
with an Individual Assistance team at a mobile Disaster
Recovery Center, helping people who were unable to
make it to permanent DRC's register for assistance. I
spoke with Summit 7 CM, Samual Poppen about their
experiences in New York.
Check out the following article written
about Summit 7:
http://www.fema.gov/current-employee-
articles/fema-corps-members-desire-serve
Page 4
to the 304 members from the Southwest Region and the 294 members from the Pacific
Region on their successful induction into Class XIX of AmeriCorps NCCC. Have a
great service year!
Southwest Region Pacific Region
ESCAPE THE ORDINARY Page 5
Follow My Lead: An Alumni Perspective
Follow My Lead: An Alumni Perspective spotlights an
AmeriCorps NCCC alum who continues to carry forth the
AmeriCorps commitment to get things done.
This edition of Escape the Ordinary will focus on Michael Muir, a
former NCCC member from the Pacific Region (located in
Sacramento, California).
Michael Muir served on Silver 2 in Class 16 of AmeriCorps
NCCC. Griffith Ryan-Roberts, also an NCCC alum and an
Alumni Leadership Council member for the Pacific Region spoke
with Michael about his NCCC experience and the impact that it
has had on his life.
(Note: You can also read Griffith’s spotlight by clicking his name
above)
How many teammates did you have as
a Corps Member? How many do you
still keep in contact with?
We were a team of 10 including our
Team Leader. I actually keep in contact
with a couple of them. I actually just
invited one of my fellow teammates to
come out and live with me for a bit. We
have also had one reunion and got like
six of us together in Boston.
What were some of your projects?
Which was your favorite?
We had 4 projects but one was a double
round and one was split into 2 different
spikes. The 4 projects were the Utah
Food Bank, Sacramento Zoo, Camp
Sealth, and Plumas National Forest. I
really enjoyed them all for many
different reasons but being a wild land
firefighter was an amazing experience
plus doing it for a couple of rounds
meant that we really got to know our site
supervisors.
What were your most
interesting/challenging
accommodations?
All of our accommodations were
amazing. We stayed at 2 different
camps and lived in our own fire house.
One of the more challenging aspects
was that two times we were in isolated
areas. Once we lived on an island so we
had to make a real effort to get into
Seattle to do ISPs and the other one we
were in the middle of the forest and it
took us about an hour and a half to get
into the nearest town to do any type of
ISP.
What are your fondest overall
memories?
I think just hanging out with the team
and getting back for transitions and
sharing stories and seeing old friends. I
mean fighting fires was awesome and
being a part of a team that you really
put your life on the line for was amazing.
I also like how we, as an AmeriCorps
team got special props from the Mayor
of Chico for our work with the local
Habitat for Humanity.
What was something you did for the
first time?
Cook my own meal. Just kidding. I think
setting up a lot of ISPs was new for me.
Not to mention that when I set them up, I
tried to explore new service projects
that were outside of my comfort zone.
This included working with kids, bikes,
the homeless, pets, community gardens,
gift wrapping, and many others. You
name it and I tried to do it.
What was the most outrageous thing
that you did?
I went swimming in the Pacific Ocean up
near Seattle in the middle of
February for a solid 30 minutes to get
our team a free pie. I nearly
gave myself hypothermia.
What was the most challenging part of
your ten months of service? How did
you overcome these challenges?
Probably saying goodbye. We had a
real cohesive team and while we had
our bumps in the road, it wasn't anything
we couldn't get through. Running the
lead Pulaski on a fire line crew for ten
hours a day is really really demanding,
especially physically.
Continued on Page 7
ESCAPE THE ORDINARY
Page 6 Why do you think national service is
important?
It serves to better yourself as well as
others. In a lot of ways, we are an
inspiration to others to show that there
are people who care a whole lot. It’s
really hard to explain but once you
spend enough time volunteering, you
really do get a sense of pride and
privilege. Also after a while, you really
get to see how many people’s lives you
get to touch throughout your service
year.
How has your NCCC experience
affected your life?
Well considering that I am now on my
third year of AmeriCorps, it has left a
lasting impression on me. I believe that
what it will boil down to is that I don't
think I can go back or start up some type
of job that doesn't really help others in
the same way that doing NCCC/
AmeriCorps does. Not to mention all the
lifelong friends that I have picked up
along the way.
Do you have any advice for
prospective Corps Members?
I would say to do it! NCCC is a great way
for you to serve a lot of people and
surround yourself with a new family of
team members. I would also use it as an
opportunity to explore many different
aspects of service through many
different agencies. For instance, I did
several ISPs with plenty of different
organizations and realized that I am not
so much a kid or pet type of person but
instead loved bikes and building. So that
led me down the path of working with
Bike & Build as well as doing my second
year of AmeriCorps with Habitat for
Humanity. It is a great way to get to
know yourself and it’s fun to do
it as well.
We are currently accepting applications for our NCCC and
FEMA Corps Fall 2013 cycle. APPLY TODAY!
https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=47804&fromSearch=true - AmeriCorps NCCC Fall 2013
https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=47806&fromSearch=
true - FEMA Corps Fall 2013
Check out these photos from Mike’s service year!
1201 New York Ave
Washington, DC 20525
FOLLOW NCCC ONLINE:
AMERICORPS NCCC
Phone: 800-942-2677
E-mail: [email protected]
We’re on the Web
www.americorps.gov/nccc
What does my NCCC status mean?
You’ve heard about the amazing things that AmeriCorps NCCC members do and now you’re ready to be a part of this great program. You apply but then you ask, “What does Under
Review mean”? Well, we’re going to break down those statuses
right here.
How does placement work in NCCC?
NCCC employs a “rolling admissions”
process, similar to many colleges. We have a few rounds of placements during the
application period and additional rounds of placements once our application period
closes. We continue to offer positions as they become available, including up to the
day before a campus opens.
All selections and placements are random. We have far more qualified applicants than
positions available, and unfortunately cannot guarantee a position to all qualified
applicants.
Additional invitations for Winter 2013 and FEMA Corps are coming soon.
Stay tuned!
Using your smartphone, scan this code for more
information about
NCCC.