Questions About Training You Always Wanted to Know

Team Leader Tanner recounts his first two months of training

I write to you today from Vicksburg, Mississippi; home of the AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region campus. As of now, our AmeriCorps NCCC Class 19 teams are serving in a variety of ways throughout the 11 states that make up our Southern Region. Some teams are serving as mentors to school aged children whereas others are providing relief to towns affected by disaster. These teams consist of eight to 12 highly capable, bright, and motivated Corps members along with a Team Leader (TL) to help guide them along their journey. They are out in the field and getting things done for America. However, what may go overlooked is how exactly they got to that point.  

The new Class 19 Team Leaders for the Southern Region


In early January, a vibrant group of Team Leaders arrived to campus. Some were veterans who had served in the past while others were eager to learn more about their duties. For the next month, they went through Team Leader Training (TLT) that consisted of everything a Team Leader needed to know to be a successful, safe, organized, and well-balanced leader. Everything they learned during TLT had a specific purpose. From filling out paper work correctly to safely handling a chainsaw for hours on end. They were given the resources, knowledge, and taught the skills to make the greatest impact possible and they had a blast doing it.

My name is Tanner Shepherd and I am a proud Team Leader for the AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region campus. I, along with the Corps, have had an amazing experience during TLT and Corps Training Institute (CTI) and I am honored to give you the inside scoop on both trainings. 



Habitat for Humanity of Tuscaloosa, Alabama

My favorite part of TLT, and AmeriCorps NCCC in general, are the opportunities this program gives us for personal development. During our training, we were presented with obstacles. Whether it was an actual 15-foot wall, an emotional scenario, or the ability to drive a 15-passanger van, we developed the skills to tackle it. We sat down for eight-plus hours a day in a classroom learning about budget management, professional paperwork, and the guidance to lead a team for the next nine months. Our tool safety training consisted of traveling to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to be instructed by the local Habitat for Humanity. While we were being educated on the importance of tool safety we were helping build a house in an area affected by a tornado in 2011. For our team bonding exercise we went to a ropes course in Saucier, MS that consisted of high and low element courses. During our time in Hattiesburg, MS, we were grateful enough to go through Camp Shelby’s LeaderShape exercise course. The month was jam-packed full of information, new experiences, and exciting times that we would have never gained if it was not for AmeriCorps NCCC.

 



Chainsaw training in Hattiesburg, MS

CPR Training

Once the rest of the Corps got to campus the real preparations began. Each Corps member went through rigorous training to understand what he or she would be doing for the next nine months. They became certified in Adult CPR, driving a 15-passenger van, and safely operating a chainsaw. They went through exercises such as diversity training to expand their knowledge on leadership styles. The Corps demonstrated their newly found skills through hands-on activities such as a city park clean up in Hattiesburg, MS. They also stayed at Camp Lake Stephens located in Oxford, MS to help revitalize the campground, as well as participate in the local University’s ropes course for team building exercises. All of these trainings were to prepare them for the journey ahead. 



Delta 5 at the ropes course for team building.



River Unit hug!

The greatest part about TLT and CTI was the bonding that occurred. Before we came to AmeriCorps NCCC, we were individuals within our own groups. Now, after these trainings, we are a part of a much larger family. The bond that has been created within this family has been the most important. Throughout their journey they will endure hardships, but with their teams they will overcome. Through these next nine months they will bring communities together and they will “GET THINGS DONE!”

Check out his video I made for the Corps about arriving to campus and our first months of training!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIvGqQc1aK0

Inspiring Member Gets Denver's Inaugural FEMA Corps Class Off to A Great Start

Hello! My name is Ariella, and I am truly honored to be a member of the inaugural FEMA Corps class at the Southwest Campus!



FEMA Corps (Glacier 5) member, Ariella Ross, was all smiles as she delivered the
Corps Member Reflection at her Denver induction.



When we all arrived about a month ago the most famous question seemed to be “Where are you from?”  But the second most famous, and perhaps more important question was “Why FEMA Corps?”  For some of us the answer was easy, “I want to pursue a career in Emergency Management.” For others it was “I wanted to get away from home and try something new.”  And yet others it was the pure reason of serving people and serving our country.  May answer is a mix of all these things and today I would like to share with you part of my story in the hopes that it may motivate you and remind you why you decided to serve, because in any public service job, whether within the government or not, remembering your initial motivation for the job is absolutely vital for your success in the field.

It was the end of my sophomore year of college when I decided to pursue a career in Emergency Management, but the next school year I took a class that ended up being very discouraging toward my new career choice.  The class was called “Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in World Affairs” and the most poignant part of the class was when we did a case study of the response in Haiti following the earthquake of 2010.  We discussed the misallocation of response funds, organization and program overlap, corruption, and other social issues that were made worse by the quake.  We discussed everything negative produced by the earthquake, and I seriously began to doubt the value of disaster relief and recovery as a career.

But then I had a conversation with an alum from my college that changed my entire perspective.  I was expressing to him my intellectual doubts about disaster relief agencies, and he responded by saying “Well, you’ll always have doubt” and looking me straight in the eyes  he said, “But don’t let that deter you from pursuing what you want to do or what you think is right.”  I took those words to heart and began to intentionally seek out positivity amid crisis.

A positive outlook and a strong value for service is absolutely crucial for the type of work we’ve signed up for.  Without at least a little bit of optimism you will become paralyzed with doubt and depression about our world, and I can tell you from experience that is NOT a productive or fulfilling way to live.

But I’m not saying that you should deny reality.  Do social problems exist? Yes. Are they made worse by disaster? Absolutely, and yes, it’s true that some may never go away. But doing something to resolve an issue is better than doing nothing.  We can’t save everyone, but the key to success is coming to terms with reality and putting 110% toward those who you can help.  This year, when we enter a community recovering from disaster we may feel like we’re not making a contribution.  We may not understand our purpose in a certain place and it is very likely that we will leave some places feeling like our job is unfinished (afterall, we only have 10 months).  But remember that you WILL make a difference! Even if it’s only family, at least they can rest easy tonight.  One organization cannot take an entire community through recover and gauging your impact is probably the hardest thing to do when you’re in the midst of your work.  But the work we will do this year WILL make a difference and WILL contribute to stronger communities and a stronger America.

So, FEMA Corps Class 19B, as we approach our term of service, I challenge you to accept reality, work through your doubts, intentionally seek positivity amid the crisis and remember that your role is important. Then we can really get things done for America.  Let’s go!

A 2nd Generation NCCC Member Leaves His Mark

 Keivon Henderson shares his inspiring Class 18 graduation speech.



Two generations of NCCC: Class 18 NCCC member, Keivon, with his father, a Class 2 NCCC
member, at Keivon's graduation in Vinton, IA.

Class 18, I want to start by telling a little about myself. I was that one kid that would walk around with the big black head phones blasting his music to tone out all other life. I was that kid you would never see at any campus activities unless they were mandatory. I was that corps member that you would have to force to get a simple “hi” out of. Now, the whole reason I say this is because, I’m now standing tall, talking loud and proud at my…our graduation.

AmeriCorps NCCC is a great way to see what you are really made of, to see who you can and will become. The NCCC experience can quickly pull out your doubts and your fears, put them together, and force you to face them. It has the ability to make you face all those doubts and fears to ultimately better yourself for what is to come, and for what you are to become later in life. I say this with no doubts because NCCC has done it to me and I am sure to many of you.

When I first joined NCCC, talking at the graduation was the very last thing on my mind, because public speaking was a fear of mine, but hey- look at me now! When I first joined NCCC all I could think about was going home, quitting for fear of the unknown. Of course, I assumed more then I actually knew: I assumed I wasn’t going to like the program, I assumed it was going to be a waste of my time. But hey- look at me now! Here I stand in front of you at our graduation, and when I look in to the crowd I see our future, the men and women who will take the places of important people that make our world work.

Look at us now! Class 18! We made it. We have overcome mountains of adversity and persevered through it all. We have been pushed to our breaking points and far, far past. We have figured out how to get along with people with very different personalities and backgrounds, navigating life alongside their weird habits, with all types of attitudes, and together we’ve helped a whole lot of other people in the process. We have been separated from loved ones for ten months, so far away from them, but class 18 -we still stood tall and strong through it all, and we made it!

Class 18, chase your dreams. Live your life to the fullest. Have no regrets, remember to treat people the way you want to be treated, remember that if you want to change your life you have to be willing to take a risk, you have to be willing to step out of your square of comfort and embrace the unknown. The unknown can bring so much change to your life, good and bad. You can’t control the unknown, but you do have a say in is the type of unknown you allow in your in to your life. So class 18, I leave you with this, a quote from a counselor on my first round project, words that he spoke at an at-risk youth program’s graduation: “May you live life as long as you want, and not want as long as you live.” Congratulations class 18 - we all made it. Enjoy your graduation, enjoy your lives.

Keivon Henderson

AmeriCorps NCCC Leads to Teach for America

My name is Kate Kavouras, and I am a 2005 Teach For America (TFA) corps member and a proud member of NCCC Class VII (Denver Campus).  I know that you may already be familiar with TFA, but I am writing to share with you a little bit about my involvement with NCCC and how it led me to TFA.

I joined NCCC because I needed to know more – about life, about our country, about myself – than I was able to learn in my hometown.  I finished NCCC knowing how to shingle a roof, teach letter sounds, take down 10 acres of barbed wire fencing before lunch, and that never – under any circumstances – was I to drive a 15-passenger van.  More importantly, I finished NCCC with a conviction to continue to work with other equally committed, smart, and ambitious people to get things done for people, for communities and for our country. 

But where could I go from there?  They say that you can’t be an AmeriCorps member forever; you have to join the real world sometime, but that’s not completely true.  I first heard about TFA because it’s an AmeriCorps program.  As I learned more, I realized it was an opportunity for me to continue serving as an AmeriCorps member while beginning a career as a full-time, salaried teacher.  Even if a long-term career in education is not what you’re looking for, I’d still urge you to consider TFA.  The career and leadership development you receive as a TFA corps member is designed to help you succeed across multiple sectors. 

From 2005 to 2007, I served as a TFA corps member teaching middle school social studies in Harlem.  Along with more than one thousand other corps members serving in New York City, I worked relentlessly to close the achievement gap plaguing low-income youth.  Like my time in NCCC, I was having fun, serving with other young ambitious people from across the nation, and making a tremendous impact.

Let’s be honest –   

It’s hard – like building a trail at 10,000 feet in the winter or running an afterschool program without supplies or direction – but you know hard. 

It’s intense – like counseling families whose lives have been devastated by a disaster – but you know intense. 

It’s inspiring – like seeing Michael, one of my 8^th graders who had been expelled from his previous school, propose a graduated income tax as a way of rebuilding the nation after the Civil War. 

It’s impactful – like seeing Ivelis and Stephanie, my two 7^th grade girls that just-wouldn’t-stop-talking at the beginning of the year, channel their energy into starting a book club to read David McCullough’s 1776.  

It’s transformative – like watching my former 7^th grade students five years later, as they graduated with offers to four-year colleges. 

You know inspiring, and impactful, and transformative.  You’re an AmeriCorps member.  The problems facing students in low-income classrooms – the doors that will never open for them simply because of inadequate education – are too important for your service to end with NCCC.  By continuing your service with Teach For America you can become a leader in the effort to expand educational equity.  

Whether you’ve already considered Teach For America or not, I am writing to ensure that you remember to APPLY NOW to Teach For America’s final deadline, which is this Friday, February 15^th.. You can also email Molly Friedland if you’re interested in meeting with a TFA representative.  I hope that you will consider applying to Teach For America and continue having an impact on communities across the country.

All the best,

Kate Kavouras

FEMA Corps Member Brings Sandy's Lessons to White House

by Greg Tucker

(This post originally appeared on the National Service Blog on February 8, 2013.)

The chance to get in on the ground floor and build something new attracted recent college grad Ben Barron to the FEMA Corps AmeriCorps NCCC unit. Last fall his class went to work with the Hurricane Sandy relief and recovery effort in New York, where he learned a lot about himself and the strength of the human spirit.

Barron was on the path to law school when he learned about the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) and FEMA Corps from another student at California State University, Northridge. This idea led to him to join the first FEMA Corps class in July 2012 to begin training as a Team Leader with the new unit.

Change of Plans

Barron's team was on an assignment in New Orleans when Sandy struck the East Coast and altered their plans. Soon, he would be providing disaster assistance to victims of that storm and “sleeping in a hold with 149 of (his) best friends” on a ship docked off Staten Island in New York.

Barron was impressed immediately with the mobilization of people who assembled to provide assistance. As he continued in the recovery effort, Barron was also surprised by the resilience and selflessness he saw as people worked to regain control of their lives.

“I don't know how many times I heard from people who had just lost their homes -- lost pretty much everything they own --say, ‘Can you go down the street and help them because they got hit worse?'” said Barron. “We heard that every day … that sense of camaraderie was the most touching thing.”

Adapting to the Situation

As part of the roving disaster response center, Barron pursued an initiative to use laptops and iPads to register storm survivors for disaster assistance, as well as keep track of the areas that had received aid from other organizations.

Early on, people were borrowing FEMA Corps members' phones to call in and register for assistance because they had no computers or electricity to do so at home. By embracing mobile technology, they were able to make the process more efficient while maintaining face-to-face interactions.

At first, they set up stations at relief centers by tethering laptops to their Blackberry phones to create mobile internet connections. Later they moved to tablet computers.

“The iPads helped streamline the process,” said Barron. “They helped us get people registered in their neighborhood or even at their door.”

Through the program, FEMA reached and documented thousands who may not have received adequate disaster assistance, avoiding redundancy and wasted resources. Barron's efforts brought him to the White House earlier this week to speak at a FEMA Think Tank on innovation in emergency management.

His experience as a FEMA Corps Team Leader has taught Barron about working with a people who have “different personalities, different dialogues, and different objectives.”

“If you are looking for a future in emergency management, FEMA Corps will help you with that,” said Barron. “Where else are you gonna get that opportunity?”

Barron also learned about time management and prioritization, adding that the amount of resolve and the resilience needed to work in disaster relief is something that inspires confidence.

“Don't be afraid to jump in and do something. Being a bystander is not something that's going to get the job done,” he said. “Be ready to be amazed.”

The AMERIBROTHERS and the Wall

Based on the true story of three men on Raven 1 and their epic saga of removing a foundation wall from the ground to make room for post holes for a fence.

Three AmeriBrothers faced adversity this week. Completion of a simple task halted by a wall of stone embedded in the infinite earth. The early morning air filled the breath of the AmeriBrothers giving them life to tackle this ancient wall.  They chipped, axed, and hammered, but yet the wall remained. The afternoon sun beat down its heat on their backs and faces zapping their strength from them and testing their will and still they hammered on. But yet the wall still remained. The day was done, but the battle was not.

Another day came to the AmeriBrothers and with that day came the wall unmoved and unchanged. And so the fight raged on, axe to stone, and hammer to earth. With weary bones and sweaty bodies, the AmeriBrothers powered through the day and yet the wall still remained unmoved and unchanged.

The AmeriBrothers came the next day drained, devoid of strength, and their muscles screaming to rest. They were motivated by only one thought: Today is the day, the day the wall moved. The day the wall will change. This day the wall will fall. Each AmeriBrother gripped their axes and hammers so tight their knuckles turned white. They attacked the wall with a new fire and determination. There was no time. There was no pain. The only sound they heard was metal to stone. Then they each stopped suddenly at once when a marvelous sight came to their eyes. The wall cracked. They looked at each other and smiled. The unspoken thought of victory entered their minds. Today was the day.

Again the sound of metal to stone rang in their ears along with the welcome sound of crumbling rock. The AmeriBrothers hit faster, hit harder until there was nothing left to hit the wall was gone. Nothing but dust, rubble, and invisible memory was to be lost in the dirt. The AmeriBrothers stood among the ruins of their formidable enemy and breathed a great sigh of relief, letting the silence of their victory humble their young and tired hearts. They released their tools from their aching fingers and placed them on the shoulder of the brother next to them. The day was done. The battle was won and the AmeriBrothers stood proud.

“It takes as much courage to have tried and failed as it does to have tried and succeeded.”

Romerio Scott

Raven 1 Invites Readers to Ask About Joining NCCC

The winter 2013 application deadline (10/31) is approaching!  Do you have questions about joining NCCC?

The NCCC team, Raven 1, invites you to ask your questions on their blog.