30 Days!

So the countdown has officially begun! On February 8th I'll be off to Vinton, Iowa to begin my 10 month term of service as a Corps Member of the Americorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC). I am so excited to be starting this new adventure! With my college graduation just around the corner this past spring, I was really unsure of what I wanted to do after. An advisor at school had recommended NCCC to me and after doing a ton of research I felt it was the perfect program for me, as it offered the opportunity to not only focus on community service for 10 months, but also to travel around the U.S. and meet a ton of new people. So I applied and long story short, after months of waiting and hoping, withdrawing from one term and reapplying to another, October came and I was finally selected to serve at the Americorps NCCC North Central Region campus! 

As a member of the North Central Region, I'll primarily be serving in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. 

For the first month I'll be in Vinton, receiving training that ranges from team building to chain saw 101. During this time I will also be placed on a team of 9 to 12 young people between the ages of 18-24 who I will be with for the entire 10 months. 


For the rest of my term of service I will participate in four to five different service projects that generally last 6 to 8 weeks each. Each project will focus on natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, energy conservation and urban and rural development while meeting the needs of various communities. We won't know what our projects will be until a week or so before they actually begin so it's definitely going to be a waiting game and from what I've heard, anything can change at the drop of a hat. I have a feeling that I will just be going with the flow a lot come February 8th!


Until then, however, I'm wrapping up work and getting everything I need to in order. I haven't started packing yet, and to be honest, it's become quite the daunting prospect. Packing light for 10 months which will span all seasons is definitely going to be a challenge!     

On another note, this is my first blog, so we'll see how it goes from here! For those who know me best, you know that I'm terrible at keeping in touch with people when I get super busy. With that in mind, I'm hoping that this blog helps to keep everyone filled in when I'm not able to!