A Month Full of Americorps Work!!!

This month has been a really busy work month for me. I have had several different projects in the works. For one I am still working on completing the workforce development binder however several new projects have come up. One ongoing project that I have been busy with is a series of post-high school readiness workshops. I am developing a curriculum that is a series of workshops aimed at getting high school seniors thinking about and working on their academic and work plans post-graduation. The goal of the workshops is to give individuals the guidance and skills needed to successfully enter college or the workforce post graduation. Although the curriculum overall is geared towards high school seniors, individual workshops could be used by anyone who wants to work on building skills needed to enter college or the workforce. Currently, I am piloting the workshops once a week in a one hour class for high school seniors. Although I am directly running the course with this class of high school seniors, I am still keeping in mind that my work as a VISTA ultimately has to be about capacity building. My reason for directly running the workshops the first time is so that I can personally see the problems and kinks and find solutions. To tie in the capacity building needed in VISTA work, I am writing a curriculum that is almost scripted so that anyone can easily run the workshops. In addition, I have teachers aiding in running the workshops so that in the future they will be able to facilitate them without me. Right now I am doing a three part workshop on building a resume. The goal is that by the end of the workshop each student will have created their own personal resume. I really enjoy working with the young people. I try to spend a few minutes every class with each students. It is really neat to hear their dreams and aspirations; I hope that the time I spend with them will encourage them to pursue those dreams.

Along with working on developing the workshop curriculum I am starting down the path of writing my first ever grant! The Scholarship and Employment Training Program here in Pinehill is working on applying for grant for a Youthbuild Program. Youthbuild is a character development program for high school drop outs ages 16-24. The program is 10% leadership development, 50% GED work, and 40% construction skills development. I have been asked to be part of the team that will work on the draft proposal.

Along with my VISTA project work, as VISTA I am requested to plan and run a variety of community service projects. For Veterans’ Day the Corporation For National and Community Service asked that VISTAs create service projects that would help people in the military. I created and ran a two week stuffed animal drive. The cuddlely critters are going to a program that puts together care packages for children who parents overseas. The drive was a huge success! The community came together and donated over 125 stuffed animals. Now I just have to wash the 80 odd lightly loved ones OY!

Finally I am keeping my days busy by doing volunteer work in the dorms. I have been at the dorm for over a month now and have almost all of the 40 kids names down. I really enjoy getting to plan events and programming with them. Right now I am working on a dormitory newspaper for the mid-school and high-school kids. I thought that newspaper would be a great activity for them because it would give them a chance to work on the writing skills and for the kids applying to college it will be an activity to put on their resume. Overall I am having a great time in Pine Hill!

El Morro and Phoenix

Well I have been having a whirlwind of adventures since moving to the southwest. Two weekends ago I headed Phoenix for some fun times with fellow VISTAs. The adventure began with a 3 hour trip to Whiteriver, AZ to pick up my friend Allie (serving with the National Society for the American Indian Elderly). As soon as we saw each other, it was clear that this weekend was going to be a crazy awesome adventure. In no time at all we were in Allie’s car and on the way to Phoenix (just a short 4 hour trip away).  It seemed like we were driving in the blackness that makes up the night in the middle of nowhere forever. We were so excited to see lights and as we pulled into Scottsdale we were about ready to burst with excitement. Shortly we enviously admiring our friend Jenica’s apartment (it has a pool and hot tub!!). Jenica is another VISTA from training. She is also serving with the National Society for the American Indian Elderly, but instead of being at the satellite site on a reservation she is serving in Phoenix in the main office. A short while later, our group was joined by yet another VISTA, Ryan who is serving with me on the Native Americans to Work Project  but he is on the Hualapai Reservation in Peach Springs, AZ. It was really nice to see fellow VISTAs again, especially those who I have not seen since training.

The next day, one more VISTA, Liz (serving on the Tohono O’odham reservation in Cells, AZ with the National Society for the American Indian Elderly), joined us. Then we headed off to the Arizona State Fair. I am pretty sure it was the largest fair that I have ever been to! Right away we made a beeline to the back of the fairgrounds to attend the rodeo. Let me just take a minute to tell you where we are from: Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and LA. I bet you can guess by that list that attending a rodeo was quite an experience for all of us. After the rodeo, we had a good time indulging in all the key hallmarks of a fair including homemade ice cream, lemonade, fair rides, and seeing prize animals. It was a great day not to mention very VISTA friendly; we happened into the fair on two for the price of one day!

Later that evening we enjoyed a relaxing dip in the hot tub and then a group spaghetti dinner in preparation for an epic Halloween night. Even though we are all in our mid twenties we felt the need to dress up. Our entourage  included Screetch and Kelly from Saved By the Bell, a zebra (yours truly!), and Sammi Sweetheart and JWow from the Jersey Shore. It was evening of merriment and memory making that ended with a drive through trip to Jack In The Box. Overall I enjoyed my trip to Phoenix and I am sure I will be back sometime this winter for some tanning by the poolside.

While some adventures like Phoenix take an epic amount of driving, the cool thing about where I am living is that there are plenty of adventures in my backyard. This past Sunday, fellow VISTA Allie drove up from Whiteriver, AZ with some co-workers to hike El Morro which is about 20 minutes down the road from me. El Morro is a national landmark which many people know as Inscription Rock. El Morro is a large sandstone bluff with a natural pool of water at the base of bluff. Because of this unique body of water in a very arid environment, El Morro has been a place where humans have lived and visited for hundreds of years. At the base of the bluff there are petroglyphs left by some of the earliest inhabitants. Right next to the petroglyphs are the signatures of Spanish explorers and American pioneers who rested at El Morro on their travels. As history buff it was fascinating to see the evolution and change in the people and cultures that inhabited an area displayed in such a visual manner. After taking in the inscriptions, we continued our way up the hiking trail which swichbacked up the side of the bluff. Soon we found ourselves standing atop the epically tall bluff looking into a massive canyon. It was AMAZING! The hike then continued to circle around the canyon and on top of the bluff. Along with breath-taking views, the top of the bluff is a major attractions to hikers because of the remains of ancient village. Again, anyone who knows me would get that seeing that made my day! In fact, I think I might go back to El Morro again sometime and re-hike it again. Well, that is about all I have to write about this week, this coming weekend I am going to Sedona to do some hiking so soon you will be reading about that!

Day to Day Life

Well, I have been a VISTA for a little over a month here in Pine Hill and I am really starting to settle in. I have been enjoying my work in the Continuing Education Office. Doing workforce development is way more of a challenge than I thought. Originally, I thought my work would be as simple as finding local area employers and helping to line up job connections. Well the more time I spend in the community, the more I am coming to understand the different dynamics that contribute to joblessness. For one Pine Hill is geographically isolated. So while there are limited employment opportunities locally most jobs are over an hour away. The distance most people will have to travel to work creates a challenge especially since this now means people need a reliable vehicle to work. Another issue is the education background of community member. Many people without a high school degree of GED have trouble finding work. Another problem is people are interested in different careers but they do not know the steps they need to take to successful get that type of job.

 One major project that I have been working on is creating a job readiness binder. Basically the purpose of the binder is to be a guide for people on the path to a career. It contains information on different careers and the steps needed to get there. It is divided into sections. The first section contains information on filling out resumes, job applications, and guides to discovering the best career paths. The next section looks at different education levels from no formal education to a college degree and lists what careers correlate with the different education levels. Additionally the binder provided information on different education resources in the community. The following section gives an in depth look at different career fields that are of popular interest in the community. Finally at the back of the binder is a list of local job openings. Hopefully, this binder will help people be successful in pursuing a career that they are interested in. It is pretty cool to think that I am helping to create a resource that will help the community for years to come.

Along with my VISTA work, I have kept myself busy with my volunteer work in the student dormitory. Although I am only asked to do about four hours of work a week with the kids, I find myself doing a lot more. It is ok though, because I really don’t mind. Some activities I have helped run are games, cupcake decorating, a nature walk, yoga class, and a Halloween event. I have always enjoyed working with kids so a lot of time it seems more like fun than compensation for my living space. Also, I think that I enjoy the instant gratification of seeing results of my volunteer work. One of the things I have found challenging about my VISTA work is that I don’t really get the wow I am making a change feeling. Of course I know the work I am doing is extremely valuable and in the long run it will make a difference but sometimes it is hard to consume yourself in work when you don’t see results right away.

Along with my VISTA project and volunteer work at the dorm I have managed to squeeze in sometime for fun and discover new things. Two weekends I went to Gallup with a friend. Gallup is a town that is the major place to go on the weekends. I find it funny that it is the big draw because it is about the same size as Franklin. However, I got to go to a flea market where Native Americans sell food, jewelry, and other things. This past weekend I went to Phoenix and hung out with some fellow VISTAs. Keep your eyes out for a future post! Overall, I have been having an amazing time and I am excited for several more adventures.