Have you ever been to a NCCC induction ceremony?

Each AmeriCorps NCCC campus has an induction ceremony which celebrates the start of a new service year and the completion of Corps Training Institute (CTI). Read Henry’s thoughts about the Class 18 induction experience!


I felt excited to start the service year…Outside the induction hall, two bald eagles flew overhead while the team waited to walk into the ceremony. Our team took the eagles flying overhead as a symbol of the hard work we would be doing for America this year. We did cheers and stomps outside while waiting to go into the ceremony to pump us up and show our team pride. Since CTI was intense with long hours of training, we finally felt everything was coming together at induction.



Barbershop trio of NCCC members sing "Happy Birthday" to Kate

I sang twice during the ceremony…
I was a part of the barbershop trio which sang happy birthday to Kate Raftery, NCCC National Director , whose birthday was the exact day of our induction ceremony. I didn’t find out I would be singing the birthday song until a few days before the ceremony.  The trio of birthday singers included me and two other Corps members from other teams. A few days before the ceremony, we spent some time practicing to perfect our harmonies.  At the induction rehearsal, the day before the ceremony, the trio sang the birthday song live for the entire Corps.  What a cool experience! Team based singing!

 

Henry singing the National Anthem

 I also sang the National Anthem for the ceremony, which was a major highlight for me and the Raven 1 team. During the national anthem, while others were looking at me thinking about America, I was looking at the faces of the people who would be my family and friends.  I got tears in my eyes because I realized this Corps is making a big impact on my life.

The speeches were inspiring…

All of the ceremony speeches were excellent. I thought Rusty, the NCCC Atlantic Region Community Council president, did a really terrific job to inspire the Corps. (Read Rusty's speech here.) I also enjoyed listening to the speech from Kiera, a class 17 NCCC Atlantic Region alumna, because she reassured us of our commitment and awe at what we too can accomplish.(Kiera's speech is here.)   Kate, the National Director of NCCC,  also really connected with us through her remarks. (Check them out here.)



Kiera, Class 17 Alumna, speaking to members



Mmmmm...Raven cake

Cake and hugs with the Corps…The ceremony also included refreshments and I remember eating cake and punch afterwards while hugs, congratulations, and goodbyes were shared with friends and Corps Members.

Ta-da! You’re it! The announcement that Raven 1 was the blog team also happened at induction and it was unexpected.  The announcement was informal.  During the reception part of the ceremony, we saw a photo of our team pop up on the projector screen with a sentence that we would be the national blog team!  We all felt so excited and honored to be the featured team for the Atlantic Region that we took to the stage to take a photo with the announcement slide.



Raven 1 finds out they are the national blog team at induction



All in all, the induction ceremony was moving and memorable for everyone.  I hope everyone reading this has an opportunity to experience a NCCC induction ceremony!

~ Henry

NEXT Raven 1 Blog Post:  Raven 1 shares a summary of their round 1 project in Delaware.