A Week in the Life of an AmeriCorps NCCC Team Leader (In Training)

As some of you may have heard, "The most recent continuing resolution passed by the House would cut all federal funding for the agency that oversees [NCCC], the Corporation for National and Community Service, effectively wiping out AmeriCorps."

Source: An AmeriCorps Alum Defends The Program Against Republican Defunding Threats

Time and time again I have heard people refer to my life as a "permanent vacation." I suppose it's an easy assumption to make if you base your judgment on the photos that I post without ever actually having a conversation with me. Sadly, we're human and that's what we do - we judge without investigating, we stereotype, we assume and we put people in boxes.

But here's the thing - most of the time, we're wrong.

Yes, I travel, I travel a lot. Unfortunately, travel and vacation are not synonymous. I am, however, fortunate enough to have a job that allows me to explore new places on a monthly basis, acquire new skills, work with and learn from amazing individuals, and get unlimited satisfaction from helping those in need.

So, what exactly do I do for a living? Well, I suppose there is no better way of answering that question than recalling the last week (and a half) of my life.

Wednesday: Partnered with the American Red Cross and answered
phones at the Rocky Mountain PBS telethon, raising $1,066,061
to aid the victims of Colorado Flooding

Thursday: Chainsaw training to prepare for future
environmental projects

Friday: Helped out flood victims with Boulder CareConnect, mucking,
gutting, and cleaning out basements       

Saturday: Volunteered at the Denver River Sweep,
clearing out invasive weeds along the bank

Thursday: Teambuilding Ropes Course, helping my roomie
get over her fear of heights

Thursday: Teambuilding Ropes Course

Friday: Partnered with Operation Blessing to help clear debris in 
Lyons, CO, one of the hardest hit areas

Friday: Trailer park in Lyons, CO destroyed by the flood

Friday: Assisted in clearing mud from a home devastated by a
flash flood in Lyons, CO

Friday: Mucked and gutted a home of a flood victim in Lyons, CO

Yes, I am lucky enough to have a job that does not always feel like work. However, what AmeriCorps NCCC members get done for communities throughout the United States is priceless. If I could have a dollar for every time that I heard "Thank you AmeriCorps, this would not have been done without you," perhaps I could fund this program myself...

Home Sweet Home

At some point during my service, the Denver Campus hosted a Life After AmeriCorps Day, where representatives from potential future jobs, university and military recruiters, and even a guy with a tarantula (can't remember what organization he represented but I do remember the cold sweat and nerves when he let me hold the spider) gather to offer us some sort of peace of mind after graduation.

Sidenote: I tackled two of my phobias last year, spiders and snakes, by holding them. Not the easiest way, but definitely a very effective one. If you have a fear of heights and want to talk skydiving, I am an experienced amateur with 13 jumps, feel free to leave a comment.

Lucky for me, I already knew what I was going to be doing - I was going to be a fancy, all-knowing and all-powerful Team Leader (for those of you who are reading my blog and do not know me, my apologies for the sarcasm, I have been trying to curb it). That's not the point I was going to make though...

One of the LAA seminars was an alumni panel. I don't remember much, but I do remember two things: one, my roomie and my jokester friend giving me a broken chair and my falling for it (pun intended), bruising my behind, and the laughter that followed; two, one of the alumni describing her first weeks following graduation (which she highly anticipated) - two weeks of laying on her couch, reminiscing, and crying.

Lucky for me, my friends and family had my short five week vacation planned out to the minute, giving me zero time to mope. Since this blog is about my experience in AmeriCorps and not my life outside of the bubble, I won't go into too much detail about my summer. However, the photos below could serve as a Pinterest board of ideas to decompress after 10 months of steel-toed boots, physical labor, and very little "me" time.

Celebrating my mama's 3000th skydive

"Auntie Ali" spending time with her precious angel

Baby shower for a beautiful mama-to-be!

First attempt at fishing

13 years after moving to America, finally got my US passport!

Electric Adventure at Six Flags with a bum knee... But finally conquered Kingda Ka!

Keepin' it country at Zac Brown Band concert

Dominican Republic with my best friend!

10 days of pure bliss - Dominican Republic

Never underestimate the calming power of the ocean

The End of the Beginning

Graduation day. Tears, laughter, gifts, hugs, and the bittersweet realization that the first part of my AmeriCorps adventure was coming to an end.

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened," - Dr.Seuss

Second Spike - Lake Ouachita State Park / Hobbs State Park, AR

I could spend hours, perhaps days, reminiscing about all the amazing memories I made in my time of service. But you know what they say, right? A picture is worth a thousand words, and I believe these encompass how incredibly blessed I was with my team, my projects, and a few handfuls of lifelong friends that I look forward to sharing my future with. The biggest of thank yous to every single one of the magnificent individuals for touching my heart, knowing you makes me a better person.

Corps Member Training Institure

First Spike - Alamo, TX

Lake, ukulele, and great friends during transition week

My very first AmeriFriend, my AmeriProm date, and my biggest support system

I'm thankful for chiggers because they brought me to you :)

The only way to overcome your fears is to dive in head first

Third Spike - Granbury, TX. Sun 3 V. 3, thank you for all the laughs

OK Strong

Fourth Spike - Disaster deployment to OK following the tornados

Welcome to the 24 club, Kat!

In the wise words of Luke, ARCHES!!!

Fantastic evening with fantastic friends

Love <3

Cheesy but I have to do it - "you're on my heart just like a tattoo"

Sun 2 Family

It's not goodbye, it's see you later

Ignorance is Bliss

My time as a Corps Member was slowly coming to an end. We spent the last three weeks of fourth round working at the Action Center, a human-service non-profit which provides food, clothing, household goods and counseling services to homeless and those in need. Our tasks included everything from unloading and sorting food and clothing donations to preparing food orders for the clients, from helping out at the clothing bank to preparing for the school supply drive.

A gift from the Action Center

Throughout my year in AmeriCorps, I truly enjoyed environmental projects for their calm, peaceful nature - after a year of working in international transportation and dealing with the stress US Customs and Border Protection brings, it was exactly what I needed.

However, it was the projects where I got to interact with those less fortunate, the projects where, if even for a second, I eased someone's pain, that made the biggest impact on my life. Listening to the heartbreaking story of an individual whose home was destroyed by the tornado; seeing tears and pain in the eyes of a person who lost a loved one in the elementary school that did not have a tornado shelter; handing fresh groceries to someone who has not eaten in days; giving a clean shirt to a person whose only possessions are the clothes on his back; rationing baby food to a mother who would otherwise be unable to feed her child; helping tornado victims locate donation centers which will help them begin to rebuild; presenting a homeless man with his very own bicycle, something he has dreamt about for almost 5 years.

"Ignorance is bliss."
"See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."

The list of popular idioms and phrases that describe the idea of turning a blind eye to pain, suffering and evil in this world is endless. Of course, it is a lot easier for an individual to go through life in a worry-free bubble of happiness, rainbows and butterflies. However, what that bubble is missing is knowledge, and knowledge of suffering comes with a thick silver lining - a greater appreciation of your own life and all your blessings, and the incredible feeling of accomplishment that comes with the ability to help.

I would not trade my experience for the world.

Better Late Than Never - Utah Roadtrip

I have come to notice that this blog has a very direct correlation to my life - no, I do not mean that it depicts events in my life, because that is too obvious of a fact to state. What I mean is that my posts are directly correlated with times of either uncertainty, worry, or stress in my life. Fortunately for me, writing has always been extremely therapeutic, helping me gather my thoughts, recollect myself and find peace from within. Unfortunately for my readers, after a very difficult three weeks on disaster relief following the Oklahoma tornadoes, it was smooth sailing until graduation from AmeriCorps, and my summer in New York was filled with nothing but laughter, good friends, family, and a relaxing ten days in the Dominican Republic with my mama.

Luckily, I am now a Team Leader in NCCC which, as I have been told, is one of the more stressful jobs on this planet. That being said, cheers to a year of frequent blogging!

Being that the title of this blog post is "Camping in Utah" and not "An Explanation of Why I Procrastinate My Writing," I suppose I should discuss the amazing trip that me and four friends took following our disaster relief mission.

The idea of exploring beautiful Utah came about as me and two of my teammates were on a search mission of a yoga studio close to campus. Naturally we got distracted from our mission, and a car show and a most beautiful sunset over the Rockies later, we were bursting with excitement planning out the details of our trip. It did not take long to get two more people on board, and on a beautiful summer afternoon we piled into Johny's car for an amazing roadtrip adventure.

We camped in the Rocky Mountains of the first night of our trip, FOR FREE (thanks to Johny's beard, the park attendant said that we looked like people who were looking for something free).

Camping in the Rocky Mountains

We made it to Moab, Utah the following day, and spent the next three days exploring Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, camping in the desert with zero plumbing (hellooo baby wipes), enjoying the most incredible night sky and having feasts of bacon and eggs every morning.

Finally made it to my 32nd state!!!

Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Our lovely home in Moab, Utah

Chef hard at work - eggs and bacon for breakfast!

Sun setting over the Delicate Arch, state symbol of Utah (Arches National Park)

I must admit, I could not have picked a more extraordinary place to visit or a more fantastic group of people to visit it with. If you're a fan of desert hikes, National Parks and beautiful scenery, I highly recommend Utah. Just make sure you bring plenty of sunscreen and lots of water!