[A little bit of] A blast from the past
Once again, it has been a little while, I reckon. It's amazing how much can change from end-September to mid-October, huh? Yes, it really is mid-October. I honestly can't believe it either!
One day last week, I was cleaning out my documents folder on my computer and I came across something I wrote on August 28th, which, coincidentally, was my last day as an AmeriCorps VISTA! Yep, talking about that again...But all joking aside, even though I have made the transition from VISTA to a "working professional" (I only put that in quotations because my professionalism is a bit debatable sometimes.....no, that is not meant in a bad way either...holy smokes, I'm feeling that late morning extra cup of coffee now...) ANYWAY, even though my VISTA days are a thing of the past, I still think of my year often. I gained additional skills and sharpened skills that I thought were long lost. I formed many invaluable relationships, and I still keep in touch with a few folks that I met through several VISTA events that I attended. I became a part of a small network, based at my alma mater, that is taking part in meaningful work, and they have given me a chance to join them alongside this work. Heck, this whole blog came about because I wanted a way to document my VISTA year, and now it has extended beyond that!
I came across this write-up I did on my last day as a VISTA, and, with the exception of the state office, I realized that it never went to anyone else except myself. After I found it, I read through it, and after being flooooored with some pretty rad memories and experiences, I decided to send it to my boss. And now, I will share it here. Or rather, I will share excerpts of it, because as it is, it's 3 pages on a Word document, and I don't want any of y'all falling asleep on me and/or going cross-eyed.
It also just so happens that last week was #AmeriDay. So there ya go!
If my memory serves me correctly, which is highly debatable at times, it was this time last year that I returned home from PSO in Atlanta. I felt an almost dizzying combination of exhaustion, from two long days of training and some lingering jet lag, excitement and motivation, ready to get started and, in my mind, save the world; and general overwhelmed-ness; how was I going to accomplish all that had been laid out for me to do, all on a less-than-desirable living allowance? I was full to the brim of ideas with a network of peers in my back pocket, mostly just overtly eager to finally have the opportunity to do something at the institution where, barely two years ago, I’d graduated from.
One day last week, I was cleaning out my documents folder on my computer and I came across something I wrote on August 28th, which, coincidentally, was my last day as an AmeriCorps VISTA! Yep, talking about that again...But all joking aside, even though I have made the transition from VISTA to a "working professional" (I only put that in quotations because my professionalism is a bit debatable sometimes.....no, that is not meant in a bad way either...holy smokes, I'm feeling that late morning extra cup of coffee now...) ANYWAY, even though my VISTA days are a thing of the past, I still think of my year often. I gained additional skills and sharpened skills that I thought were long lost. I formed many invaluable relationships, and I still keep in touch with a few folks that I met through several VISTA events that I attended. I became a part of a small network, based at my alma mater, that is taking part in meaningful work, and they have given me a chance to join them alongside this work. Heck, this whole blog came about because I wanted a way to document my VISTA year, and now it has extended beyond that!
I came across this write-up I did on my last day as a VISTA, and, with the exception of the state office, I realized that it never went to anyone else except myself. After I found it, I read through it, and after being flooooored with some pretty rad memories and experiences, I decided to send it to my boss. And now, I will share it here. Or rather, I will share excerpts of it, because as it is, it's 3 pages on a Word document, and I don't want any of y'all falling asleep on me and/or going cross-eyed.
It also just so happens that last week was #AmeriDay. So there ya go!
--
August 28, 2015
Thinking about VISTA: A year finishedIf my memory serves me correctly, which is highly debatable at times, it was this time last year that I returned home from PSO in Atlanta. I felt an almost dizzying combination of exhaustion, from two long days of training and some lingering jet lag, excitement and motivation, ready to get started and, in my mind, save the world; and general overwhelmed-ness; how was I going to accomplish all that had been laid out for me to do, all on a less-than-desirable living allowance? I was full to the brim of ideas with a network of peers in my back pocket, mostly just overtly eager to finally have the opportunity to do something at the institution where, barely two years ago, I’d graduated from.
My first month passed at breakneck speed, to the point where I only have faint memories of what actually occurred. During that first month, I dove right into the world of logistical planning, having taken on administrative duties of a 3-year federally funded project being overseen by one of my site supervisors. It was there that I began to know some of Grow Appalachia’s partner site coordinators, and slowly but surely, the remaining 35 or so became permanently stamped into memory, as common of knowledge as the weather or my driver’s license number. It was also in this first month that I started what would become an integral component of my service, and that was grant writing and research. I remember spending at least two days in September, wading through pages and pages of demographical information about our surrounding counties, learning some pretty disturbing and sobering statistics along the way. And lastly, in that first month I accompanied my supervisor to Virginia and spent four days documenting a dual high-tunnel build, working with special needs students. Watching these students get so excited about this project, no doubt many of them hearing “You can’t” for most of their lives, was nothing short of inspirational. I still think of that build often. And as if I merely blinked, September went into October, and October into November.
Not far into November, I learned how to collate our partner site reports. I won’t get into details about the process, but for me, it takes an entire work day, and usually half of another day. This task had usually fallen upon my other site supervisor. By now, she had become my primary site supervisor after we lost a VISTA earlier that year...While I sometimes yearned to be out in the field, continuing to document high tunnel builds, I did my best to fill the absence and adjust to a more administrative role. I must admit, the first round of data collation was frustrating and painstakingly slow. But VISTAs, I’ve learned, are resilient and quick to adapt to new situations. VISTAs are also relied on and depended on, and I took that seriously, or at least I tried to (There may have been a few last-minute vacation day requests in there somewhere…) But I was consistently told that I was doing good work, even though I didn’t think much of it, and when you consistently hear positive feedback, you want to perform better, and you want to keep doing that good work. Two days before Thanksgiving, I found myself talking to Grow’s program director, and I had just been asked the elephant-in-the-room question of “What’s next after VISTA?”
I. Panicked.
I don’t remember my answer; honestly, I’m not sure I even had one, but I’m sure I made an idiot of myself. “Well, Holly,” he went on to say, “We’ve been very pleased with your work, and we would like you to stay on full-time at the end of your VISTA term.”
I’m pretty sure my jaw hit the floor...but I think the first words out of my mouth were, “Is this some kind of a joke?” No joke. That became the catalyst for the rest of my year. To have been told, in not so many words, “don’t expect something permanent after VISTA” (and I mean that in the most non-sarcastic way possible), and to have been given the opportunity so early on…well…it’s difficult to describe, and all that comes to mind is thankful!
2015 started and I found myself in this Facebook group of KyCC VISTAs [KyCC is the umbrella organization that I was a part of], and my excitement just went through the roof! I’d developed into a fairly savvy social media navigator by then, having been the unofficial social media manager of Grow for a couple of months. Not only that, I was keenly interested in getting to know area VISTAs and be a part of a shared space of collaboration and spending time together outside of VISTA...Earlier in February, Grow had its annual gathering, where all of our partner sites came together in Berea for 2 days of training and workshops. During this gathering I gave my first presentation since college, and I can say with the utmost of confidence that it bombed. But there’s always next year, right?
2015 started and I found myself in this Facebook group of KyCC VISTAs [KyCC is the umbrella organization that I was a part of], and my excitement just went through the roof! I’d developed into a fairly savvy social media navigator by then, having been the unofficial social media manager of Grow for a couple of months. Not only that, I was keenly interested in getting to know area VISTAs and be a part of a shared space of collaboration and spending time together outside of VISTA...Earlier in February, Grow had its annual gathering, where all of our partner sites came together in Berea for 2 days of training and workshops. During this gathering I gave my first presentation since college, and I can say with the utmost of confidence that it bombed. But there’s always next year, right?
And then I blinked again, and I was soon meeting with Fred [my on-site VISTA leader], talking about my LAST six months...He was more than just an ally, supporter, and advocate- he became a good friend, someone I could confide in and share anything with, VISTA-related or not...It was during this time, right around my halfway mark, that I realized just how much I’d enjoyed something I, to a degree have always enjoyed, and that’s writing...
And then it was May, which was, if I had to pinpoint, probably my favorite month of VISTA service, next to June (which I’ll get to later). We were finally going to SOAR...what I really took away from it was the two days spent just hanging out with other VISTAs and really getting in that quality time of sharing with one another. I remember Monday night, there were about 15 of us crammed into this abnormally hot outside area, having appetizers and drinks, and I just couldn’t help but think, “These people get it!” And they do. I don’t know if it’s a VISTA thing, but I’ve never met a more dedicated, passionate, and unrelentingly kind group of people than KyCC/TASK VISTAs. I came back from SOAR probably more dedicated to the overall VISTA cause and camaraderie, which transpired into an even greater motivation in collaboration and out-of-office frivolity with the TASK VISTAs (Ok, frivolity may not be the most appropriate word…) The 50th in Berea hit at the end of June, and it was an honor and a privilege to not only have the opportunity to share what I had been working on as a VISTA, but to meet Paul Monteiro personally. Plus, I got to educate my fellow northern Kentucky VISTAs on Berea Italian dining at its finest. What a special time in history to be serving- 50 years of VISTA! That’s a lot of capacity building!
So now here I am, a year later. Actually, I see it as more of the beginning for me, as my “career” at Grow Appalachia is just getting started. But my career as an AmeriCorps VISTA is over. I honestly can’t believe how fast it went! I’m definitely still excited and motivated, less overwhelmed, and maybe only a little bit exhausted than where I was last year, and while I’m not entirely confident in my ability to change the world, I am confident in the apparent change I can see in myself having gone through a year of national service. The network I have become a part of is unmatched. The skills I have acquired are invaluable, on both a professional and personal level, and I’m wholly inspired by the subtle mission of strengthening organizations from the inside out... I can say with 100% assurance that if given the chance, I’d do it all over again!
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