This program supplied me with one of the hardest years that I have ever encountered. It was extremely challenging at times, but what I got in return was more than I could have asked for. AmeriCorps NCCC throws you into situations that you may never have been exposed to and you have to find a way to quickly adapt or you'll find yourself struggling to keep up. Through this method of never knowing where you might end up or what you may do, I have gained much along the way. Besides gaining office, communication, and leadership skills, I have gotten to know more about myself. I learned more about the kind of person I was, how I tend to react in certain situations, and the ability to gain more empathy and compassion for others.
Looking back to the summer before I joined AmeriCorps, I was in a totally different world. I had a different mentality, a different mindset about life, narrow minded perspective, impatient, and at times, I was an unlikeable person. I am humiliated at who I was. AmeriCorps NCCC has taught me much about myself. I have been in situations that I have never wanted to be put in because, in some cases, I knew that it wouldn't showcase me in the best light to my teammates and others around me. But, through those scenarios, I have learned how to better adjust my behaviors and actions. I have better learned to adapt to others around me. To make the improved version of who I am now, I had to be put into those situations or I never would have learned, found out what I needed to fix, and then fix it. This whole entire 10 months was a chapter about self-development, one thing that the AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region Campus focuses on the most. Not only do they care about all the good things that each member has done for our nation, but their main focus is on you, something in which I didn't realize until I reflected upon these last 10 months. All the classes, trainings, activities, they were tools to help each individual corps member grow. During CTI, it was an evaluation month. During the rounds and transitions, you learn about yourself, you adjust, and you grow. And at graduation/closure week, you reflect and you celebrate. But it doesn't just stop there. The Southern Region makes sure they give you the tools to keep growing and to keep developing yourself.
I am truly thankful for the time I have spent on the Southern Region Campus. They are by far the best campus out of the total five campuses across the nation. They have the most supportive and caring staff in addition to the largest campus with acres of grounds to play and roam around. I am also extremely thankful for the people that I have met and made friends with. AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps, the Southern Region Campus, and the Class of XXII have supplied with the memories and experience of a lifetime that I will never forget. I am proud to be an AmeriCorps member and proud to now be an AmeriCorps Alum.
**I also really want to thank all of you that have stuck around and read my blogs in addition to watching a couple of them also. Thank you for all of your support!
For something a little bit more fun, below, I have vlogged a little bit of my last week on campus and my travels back home. Enjoy!
-KR
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