​As we find ourselves in the midst of a pretty unprecedented time in recent history, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to live and serve in an uncertain world. Events are canceled, organizations are trying to provide services in a totally new way, and people are having to adapt in a constantly changing environment. For many folks that serve in AmeriCorps, the specific uncertainty in this situation is new, but the feeling of being uncertain is not. Almost by definition, giving a year of your life in service of your community is uncertain. The pay is low, the scope of work can be vast, and the community is often new to us. Even if we are serving in the community that we grew up in, often we take on a different role. We get to see another side to a community that is so well-known to us. Service is the foundation of AmeriCorps, but I would argue that it is a foundation built upon uncertainty.
 
A quick note before I get too far into this blog- this isn’t meant to make an equivalency between the uncertainties that I had as a VISTA member to the uncertainty that millions of people across the world are facing. This isn’t the same situation as someone who has lost a job, or a loved one, to this crisis. It’s not the same feeling as someone that is in an unsafe quarantine situation, or that struggles to provide for their children that are out of school. I recognize that this entire blog is predicated upon the fact that I don’t have to withstand that uncertainty, and I understand that the opportunity to choose uncertainty is something that not everyone has. But if you do happen to have the ability to choose uncertainty, my advice is to take that choice.
 
When I served in Alcona County last year, I was anything but certain that it was the right move. I was actually pretty convinced that it was not. I had just quit my job as an engineer and moved to a 400 person village in Northeastern Michigan. There was so little cell service in the area that I got lost twice just trying to make it back to I-75 (that’s also partially due to my intense inability to navigate without Google Maps). I started my service on the first day of school at Alcona High School, and as I sat in the principal’s office waiting to meet my new supervisor, I was pretty sure that I had made one of the dumbest decisions in my very short professional career. Spoiler alert- I was wrong. The year I spent in Alcona taught me more than I could have ever anticipated. I saw the struggles of a rural district that was trying to do its best to support students and their families. I learned about educators and staff that would go home at night thinking of ways to bridge the gap between the resources students needed and the funding they received. I saw how much a community relied on their school. I also learned more about Beyblades, Minecraft, teenager slang (apparently I’m old), and farming than I ever thought was possible. I navigated public assistance systems, picked up a series of second jobs, and understood the stress of having a $250 electric bill in the middle of winter. But I also learned the extent of my ability to bend instead of breaking. I learned how much I loved working with teenagers and hearing about their lives. And I learned that maybe making a major career move wasn’t the worst choice after all.
 
Starting this year as VISTA Leader, I was pretty certain that I’d like the work. There was a lot to learn, there were new people to work with, and I genuinely liked going to work every day. When my supervisor told me that she was leaving of the organization, I was elated for her, but also quickly back in familiar territory- uncertainty. I’ve spent the last six to eight months being uncertain. Not in my new supervisor, or in the support of my organization, or even in the VISTA members that I was tasked with supporting (seriously, they’re all amazing human beings that I’m lucky to serve with). I was uncertain in myself.
 
I wasn’t sure that I would be able to step up and fill a part of the incredibly big shoes that Maggie left. To be honest, I’m still not sure that I can fill those shoes. But part of handling that uncertainty meant learning to rely on the people around me- my coworkers, my fellow VISTA members, and other VISTA Leaders- all of whom gave help and support willingly. It meant that I learned how much work I could actually juggle and that I got better at thinking on my feet. I’ve been handed responsibility I wasn’t sure that I was ready for, and I was given the space to grow so that I could handle it.
 
As we move into the recruitment season, I get the privilege of chatting with potential members of next year’s cohort to get a better understanding of their background and interests. Candidates for these positions are often starting their careers, and aren’t much different from me when I started to look at AmeriCorps. So many of these people are also uncertain, and that’s okay. Change, especially risky change, can be hard and scary. Being uncertain doesn’t mean that the choice is a bad one, and owning up to uncertainty doesn’t mean that you’ll fail. It just means that you’re human.
 
Uncertainty isn’t always fun. It’s pretty much never comfortable. But, in the right dose, it can also bring true clarity to a situation. Serving in Alcona, I realized how much I love working with teenagers. I realized how passionate I was about service, justice, and equity. As a VISTA Leader, I learned how to grow under pressure and how to ask for help. I got to meet and serve with some of the coolest, kindest people that I’ve ever met. I’m a better human because of AmeriCorps VISTA, and I’m so grateful for the opportunities that it’s given me, especially the ability to choose uncertainty. 

Hello, my name is Loreal Burnett. I am a first-year VISTA serving with Atlantic Impact in Detroit. Atlantic Impact is an education and travel based organization that provides a college readiness program as well as youth workforce development. With the Our World program, the organization combines SAT Prep, college tours, FAFSA assistance, and mentorship with a study abroad experience for high school juniors. In contrast, the Our Town program provides high school seniors with skilled trade exposure through a series of hands-on field trips along with career advising.
 
Trying to explain the many programs and services offered by Atlantic Impact could take more time than this blog post permits, so I'll focus on my role as Outreach Coordinator. I mainly serve with the Our Town program, reaching out to potential school partners as well as maintaining the relationship with existing partners. Early in my VISTA year, I helped establish relationships with 5 of the nine local high schools we are currently partnered with, serving over 150 youth. I also help organize our monthly skilled trade field trips with each school by being the contact person between the schools and Atlantic Impact. These field trips are my favorite part of serving because I get to see first-hand how important and impactful our program is for the students. Helping the student learn about alternate career paths that are not always advertised as a viable first option for recent graduates has been a rewarding experience in itself. Not to mention hilarious watching some of the students using the many tools for the first time.
 
I also developed a monthly meeting for students of the Our World program following the study abroad trip. Atlantic Impact previously focused solely on the junior year leading up to the study abroad trip in the summer. I thought it essential to develop a program to help support the seniors during the college application process to ensure post-secondary enrollment. We now have a monthly meeting for the students, which started last fall that provides them with additional SAT prep for seniors interested in retaking the test, connecting students with college admission representatives for the schools they are interested in attending, help to complete college and scholarship applications. Our goal is to make sure that all of the students who participated in the study abroad program not only get accepted to a post-secondary institution but that they also have all of the resources needed to attend.
 
So, far in my VISTA year, my main challenge had been getting new partners on-board. When I first started at Atlantic Impact in August, I reached out to 64 local high school counselors and principals to market our program, and of that number, I had ten schools respond, and only five signed on to participate. Yet, with the unprecedented impact of COVID-19, I, like all of us, am now facing a new challenge of adjusting to this new work environment and brainstorming ways to continue serving our communities and host sites.
 
While I am unsure as to what the remainder of my VISTA year will look like exactly, I am glad to have had the opportunity to serve with my host site and our students. I have high hopes for the completion of our programs and seeing our hard work come to fruition. 

Hey fellow VISTAs! I’m Jordan Crandell, and I'm spending my service year at the Michigan College Access Network (MCAN). MCAN is an intermediary organization that provides resources, tools and support to high schools with the goal of helping students attain a college degree. Most of the projects I’m working on this year is focused on high school support and I spend a lot of time working on outreach and engagement to bring schools into our wide array of programming.

I’m really grateful for the opportunity that MCAN has given me to attend conferences, lectures and meetings as needed and I’ve been able to learn about college access in multiple different forums. As someone who is also academic and enjoys seeking out new information, this has really been a great opportunity for me!

Thus far, the work I’m doing on MCAN’s Impact Map has been the most impactful – yes yes, I know – on me. The Impact Map is an online resource that provides Statewide qualitative data about MCAN grantees, higher education institutions and tracks counselors who have been MCAN trained and where AdviseMI Advisers are. On the other side is quantitative data that shows Michigan’s progress towards Governor Whitmer’s Sixty by 30 attainment goal. This includes FAFSA Completion, SAT data, enrollment and completion rates. The map gives a great foundation for people to see what is really going on in the state when it comes to college access.

To accurately map out these metrics and programs, I hand mapped each school to its ISD, school district and State Senate and House district. Does this mean I sat on the floor in my office in front of a giant poster of Michigan and hand drew the districts? I sure did. Does this mean that I now have a very unique skillset to know what county/ISD/district/region a specific school is located? It does! For reference, the framework for this is an Excel spreadsheet with 15 unique tabs, 10-12 columns per tab and some of the tabs have no less than 1000 rows of unique data. This has caused headaches and frustrations for sure, but more importantly, it’s brought a unique awareness of inequities here in Michigan.
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It’s not hard to see that the location of these districts has played a large role in students not have equal opportunity to apply, attend or receive a degree from a college or university. It’s heartbreaking, it’s infuriating and it’s something that either ignorantly, people can’t see or blatantly, don’t want to see. It’s also what makes this work so important. My VISTA service has highlighted these issues for me and has allowed me to show these issues to others to bring awareness to these issues in our society and start having dialogues about the massive cultural shifts that need to happen so every student can reach their potential through postsecondary education. 

​Hello! My name is Makayla and I am serving with Washtenaw Literacy, a free adult literacy agency that provides literacy and English support through a network of trained tutors.  Within Washtenaw Literacy, I work in a few different capacities.  I coordinate two English as a Second Language (ESL) open tutoring groups in Ann Arbor and conduct ESL learner orientations.
 
My VAD this year consists of creating and testing standardized protocol for Washtenaw Literacy’s new initiative called Low Skilled Adult Count (LoSAC). This initiative was created to help us track, on an annual basis, where adults in Washtenaw County who are documented to read below the 8th grade level are participating in social service delivery points, such as workforce, county jail, food distribution, homeless shelters, and health clinics.  This data taken together will help organizations throughout the county better understand the needs of adults in the community.  One of my main goals this year is to expand our reach outside of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti to out-county agencies with this initiative. In order to do this, I am currently partnering with organizations across the county to administer the TOSCRF (Test of Silent Contextualized Reading Fluency) assessment.  This assessment takes about 7 minutes to complete and is 100% anonymous.  The assessment is scored based on a point system and then converted into an average reading level.  All TOSCRF scores collected will be used in our overall community assessment data and used to help organizations assess whether their clients qualify for free tutoring services.  If adults do qualify for our services, I point them in the direction of attending Open Tutoring groups or getting a personal tutor. I have successfully partnered with the Robert J. Delonis center, a homeless shelter and food pantry in downtown Ann Arbor, to administer the TOSCRF.  This process involved coming around meal times as well as when the Warming Center opened in the evening.  After administering the TOSCRF, I scored the assessments and brought them back to clients the following week.  If they qualified for our services, I conducted an onsite orientation with them to be matched with a personal tutor.  
 
I hope to continue partnering with other community organizations throughout the county and create a standardized process by the end of my VISTA year.  During my time with Washtenaw Literacy so far, I have gained valuable professional experience in communicating in the workplace and gained knowledge about my personal working preferences.   

Hello hello!  My name is Samuel Howard.  I’m a first year VISTA serving at the Dominican Literary Center in East Detroit.  Dominican Literary Center is an adult based education center that strives to improve reading, writing, speaking, listening, mathematics, and computer skills.  Many of our students are working towards acquiring their GED or higher learning.
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As the Community Outreach Coordinator, I’ve been spending a lot of time learning and exploring the Detroit area, looking for connections and potential partnerships.  My primary goal this VISTA year of service is to increase the number of volunteer tutors by 120.  Other projects I’ve helped to create include working with WDET 101.9 to make an advertisement as well as working with Wayne State University Honors College for input in their volunteer program.  Ultimately, every connection I’m trying to make will hopefully help to increase volunteerism at the center.

I have found many challenges so far.  In the beginning I felt like I was stumbling around a lot, unsure of how to approach connections I wanted to be making. Sometimes I have found myself frustrated at starting new conversations with a potential connection, only to have it fizzle out.  I’m also much more shy and intrapersonal, so this experience has really pushed me to flex those interpersonal skills. 

Working with the students has shown me why I’m proud to be doing what I’m doing here as a VISTA.  Getting to know the students, I see that they are also setting out to try new things and face new challenges.  My experiences with the students here remind me that they are often frustrated, discouraged, or nervous when making mistakes.  Their courage gives me courage. 

This VISTA year so far has been a very profound experience for me.  I feel that my scope of understanding and ability to relate to what others are going through have greatly increased.  My position here as taught me a lot about patience and humility.  

Hi everyone, Jackie Hubbard here! I’m serving at Kent ISD in Grand Rapids. Kent ISD is an intermediate school district, which assists local school districts in providing programs and services. According to a quick Google search, there are 57 ISDs in Michigan. I spend most of my time in Project NorthStar, which is an organization housed within the ISD that connects youths to resources and services they need to overcome life barriers.

All of this “services and resources” talk sounds very broad - that’s because it is. We basically direct 16- to 24-year-olds to the right people/organizations that will help them overcome their life barriers, whether that’s related to unemployment, homelessness, pregnancy, or anything else that may be keeping them from flourishing.

As a VISTA, it’s my responsibility to develop our “Get Real!” financial literacy programming. Get Real! is a budgeting activity we take to high schools and organizations where students budget various life costs based on the average income of a career they’re most interested in pursuing. This is meant to be an activity that helps teens get a sense of what real-life expenses are. Since August, we’ve held an event at four high schools and have three more events planned for the spring. It’s been fun and fascinating for me personally to watch students move through the booths and have “aha” moments - some of which become evident when I hear loud groans after they go bankrupt, or see wide eyes after they discover how much childcare costs. Based on our post surveys, the vast majority of students have reported that, after participating in Get Real!, they had a much better understanding of budgeting, financial aid, and the financial effects of marriage and children.
 
In addition to developing Get Real!, I have been grant writing, reviving Project NorthStar’s social media, writing youth success stories, creating volunteer partnerships with other businesses and organizations, and helping adult education create a monthly newsletter. Since I have a background in teaching and writing, I’ve really enjoyed these nontraditional education & writing experiences at Kent ISD. I love that every day looks a little different, and I get to meet new people constantly. 
 
I’ve learned this year that working in the nonprofit sector requires you to sit in messes. Our work is often messy because we serve people in messy situations. Although these messes can sometimes be frustrating, draining or tedious, they have also restored my hope in us - much more than any stability has. Our messes can bring out the best and worst in us, but I’m surrounded by people at the ISD who are dedicated to putting their best foot forward in the face of adversity so that youth can experience tangible hope.
 
Being an AmeriCorps VISTA has not been easy, but I’ve been made better in these shared messes as they’ve taught me that hope is always within reach.

Hi all, this is Megan Rochlitz! I’m a first-year VISTA serving with the Mackinac Economic Alliance in Saint Ignace, Michigan. A lot of folks from downstate ask where in the Upper Peninsula Saint Ignace is- it is quite literally the first town off of the Mackinac Bridge. It’s the county seat of Mackinac County, where my host site aims “to foster economic growth through a public and private partnership dedicated to providing innovative leadership, vision, education and promotion of economic development.” Right now, my service is centered on developing resources or events that will help the residents of the county improve their professional and economic opportunities.
 
My first service project was conducting surveys with working people who lived in Mackinac County. One objective of the surveys was to gain an understanding of the different obstacles to employment people experience. Based on the conversations I got to have, the biggest obstacle and frustration people have is the lack of year-round options in the area. Well, that’s the simple way to put it anyway. You have issues like lack of affordable housing, high childcare costs, a relatively homogeneous economy, and more all in the mix. In Mackinac County, you can really get an idea of how economic problems intersect and get knotted together. Being up here reminds of the small town my dad grew up in and the problems that area’s been dealing with for years. My role as a VISTA with MEA is to cultivate paths out of the mess while identifying how to clean it up. There are a few projects I’m working on that focus on the former and a couple of pipe-dreams that may address aspects of the latter given time and more brainstorming.
 
The previous MEA VISTA, Trish Sanders, put together a vocational trades information fair that I helped out with back in November. It was an opportunity for high school students in the county to meet with different representatives and ask questions about different career paths they could take. I’m looking into planning a spring fair with an afternoon or evening session geared towards adults in the community.  Timing would be key with an event like this given the area’s reliance on spring and summer tourism. The ideal outcome for the student session would be to get students interested in summer job shadowing, applying for a trades job, or set up for a training program. For the adults, they would be exposed to different career paths to consider while they work during the season. I’d like to get people thinking about what they could do in the off-season that would set them up for consistent and better-paying employment.
 
As VISTAs we’re in a position to put projects into motion that will keep growing after we leave service. We continue the work our predecessors did while putting our own spin on it. I’m looking forward to developing more projects of my own going into the second half of this service year.

​Hello everyone! My name is June Urdy and I am a second-year AmeriCorps VISTA serving the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan (GSSEM). The mission of Girl Scouts: “Girl Scouts builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place”. My service assignment includes: developing programming for 6th-8th grade girls and their parents promoting college readiness, recruiting community volunteers, contributing to/facilitating badge activities focused on college readiness, and creating/promoting community service opportunities for girls. 
 
I have been working on programming, using community partners whenever possible. In January, we repeated the “Sewing for Service” workshop. A professional sewing instructor, myself, and several troop leaders helped the girls learn basic machine sewing. The girls made a pillowcase for themselves, to practice and get comfortable with the sewing machine. This was the first time most of them had ever used a sewing machine. Then they completed an additional pillowcase to donate to a child at the homeless shelter or the Whaley Children’s Center. The girls were excited to complete two pillowcases in such a short time period; many expressed a desire to do more sewing in the future. This activity could be the beginning of a future career in clothing construction or design.
 
In February, the girls have the option to attend badge workshops focused on public speaking, created with the help of some very talented volunteers from Flint Community Players. Developing public speaking skills boosts confidence and is important in many future careers. The two badge workshops, Troupe Performer and Public Speaker, will be hosted at the Flint Community Players workshop. The Troup Performer badge workshop, for 9th & 10th grade girls, includes the preparation and practice to perform a play as a staged reading (no memorizing requited).  The Public Speaking badge workshop, for 6th, 7th and 8th grade girls, includes practicing vocalization games, charades and a chance to read a short speech on stage. The girls will get to choose the speech and practice before the presentation. Both badge workshops will include a tour of the facility, meeting with people who work in various capacities in the facility and an opportunity to speak /perform onstage in the “black box” theater. At the end of the workshop, the girls will complete the requirements to earn the badge. These activities could be the beginning of a variety of future careers in theater or public speaking.
 
Planning is in process for a cooperative learning experience for the girls and their parents at a local credit union. The financial literacy activities will happen in celebration of Money Smart Week. (April 4th to 11th, 2020). Also in April, I will be helping at one of the activity stations at a local nature center, for Global Youth Service Day. The girls will have the opportunity to spend the day doing a variety of service projects such as: making laundry soap, planting seeds for the nature center garden, sewing pillowcases to donate and making greeting cards for senior citizens.  
 
As spring approaches, I look forward to making sure the “seeds” I have planted (partnerships, programs, and new activities) have everything needed to thrive and grow into the future. Together we are doing great things. 

Hello everyone, this is Mitchell Emery, serving at the Flint & Genesee Literacy Network in downtown Flint. Whenever anyone hears the word Flint, the first thing they always think of is the Water Crisis. It’s true, the situation was horrible and the fallout continues to leave a profound impact on the community. However, Flint’s challenges run much deeper than just the water, particularly with regard to literacy.  In 2019, only 18% of students in Flint were considered to be proficient in English Language Arts and this problem continues well into adulthood. It stifles any upward mobility and perpetuates poverty. This is why my host site, the Flint & Genesee Literacy Network was founded in 2014.
               
The network serves as the backbone to a community-wide collective impact literacy campaign. My host site does not provide direct programming, but rather builds capacity in partners who improve the lives of individuals, children, and families of Flint. To do this, we facilitate professional learning communities where partners have the opportunity to learn from one another and create shared goals, strategies and common measures in order to make a real impact in the community. We also administer large convenings of education providers in Flint, to foster collaboration and provide training. Finally, we engage in individual technical assistance by helping partnering organizations build strategic plans and execute them. For instance, we are working with the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, which is relocating residents from a poor housing project to a mixed-income community and connecting them to education and workforce opportunities. We have formed advisory groups, tracked data, and are now working to carry out a plan that could move hundreds out of poverty.
 
The actual work I do at the Literacy Network can vary greatly, but to one degree or another, I support all of our activities.  Specifically, I have several areas that I regularly focus on. One is to monitor the Network’s performance accountability by tracking data, following the progress of our work plan, and receiving constant feedback and evaluations from partners. I gather information to see what the impact of our efforts is on the community so that utilizing results-based accountability we can reevaluate and improve our strategies. I also provide direct support to our partners, such as the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, by tracking the information of their target residents, which ensures that their needs can be fully met. I regularly participate in partner meetings, helping with whatever needs to be done.  Additionally, I have worked to build out our communication systems by creating ways for our partners to share success stories, administering the Network’s website and improving our online presence.
 
I grew up in the area right outside of Flint and following my graduation from college, I knew I wanted to serve in the city. What I didn’t expect is where my service would take me. My service at the Network is a unique opportunity to build capacity in an organization dedicated to capacity building. On the one hand, there is less contact with the service population than most VISTAs have, but at the same time, it gives me a community-wide picture of what is really going on in Flint. I know what organizations are doing and am witnessing the gradual progress that the city is making. It allows me to see that I am not just one VISTA serving on a project that will help some people in need, but rather that I am a broader movement that is working to eliminate poverty.
 
My work can be a scattered process, but I have learned a lot. I have seen the impact our efforts have had on the community and how people’s lives are improving. I am thankful for the opportunity to serve and I am excited to see what the future holds.

​Hello, everyone! My name is Gabrielle VanHoesen, and I am a first-year AmeriCorps VISTA serving at SEMCA Michigan Works! in Taylor, Michigan. At SEMCA, I serve in the Youth Programs department where I get to work on workforce development programs and college access and success initiatives for youth in our designated service area.
 
So far during my term, I have contributed to events that I think will have an enduring positive impact on the young people who have been in attendance.  I was part of a committee that sent over three thousand youth to manufacturing sites across Southeast Michigan to learn about careers in manufacturing and how to acquire the necessary skills at postsecondary institutions to get those jobs. I also helped plan Wayne County’s Regional College and Career Fair, which provided nearly three hundred students the opportunity to speak one-on-one with college, scholarship, and career representatives. Finally, I was able to provide support to a healthcare panel as they spoke to local high school students about their diverse careers and the varied obstacles they overcame to accomplish their goals. These highlighted events as well as other activities that I have had the pleasure to contribute to during my service term have been very fulfilling for me both professionally and personally because this work exposes young people to opportunities that are engaging and informative, and I know exposure will help them choose the best path to follow to build a productive, fulfilling life.
 
I now look forward to a FAFSA Fiesta event that I am planning, an event aimed to provide more youth college access through removing economic barriers. This event will take place at the end of this month on January 30th at a local high school. I am partnering with a college adviser placed there to incentivize seniors to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on time. Seniors will receive food and have an opportunity to win prizes after they submit their FAFSA applications. Although the event is designed for students to complete a serious task, it is the latter portion that I look forward to the most – the fun part. I just find it amazing that this “little” three-hour event may well be a major turning point in a student’s life. This is why I love this work!