My AmeriCorps Life

At my core, I am a single mom in her late thirties trying to hash it out in this world.  I have worn many, and I mean many, hats in my lifetime, but my favorite, by far is my "Mom Hat."  I attended Cazenovia College eons ago where I received my Associates in Applied Science (2000) and my Bachelor's Degree (2002).  My major was Visual Communications with a minor in Advertising.

 

Due to a health emergency about six months after graduation, I moved to Syracuse, New York and was not able to pursue my dream job the way I would have liked.  I did, however, find work in the human services field which led into a ten year career in the medical field, occupying a few different roles.  I found my work to be emotionally and spiritually gainful rather than financial.  And the former made up for the latter.

 

Six months after my daughter was born, my ex-husband and I separated and having no family in the area or means to stay, I returned to the Hudson Valley, the place of my youth, to start our lives anew surrounded by my loving family.  I continued work in the medical field up until the spring of 2015 when I decided it was time for a change.

 

Tired of working the medical field, I wanted something fresh.  I had maintained my design skills throughout the years by way of donating services to various non-profits and community organizations, so I decided to try and make a go of actually owning my own business and can you guess who my first client was?  That's right, Ulster County Habitat for Humanity.  As you know, a start-up business rarely garners an income right away, so I was still on the hunt for a new opportunity to help things along.

 

Ulster County Habitat for Humanity was my first client.  I worked directly with the Executive Director to develop some print materials for a fundraising event.  While working together, the director mentioned that she might be looking for an office manager in the fall.  I tucked that little bit of information in the back of my mind and when autumn rolled around and I still needed to work, I called the director and inquired about the position.  As it turned out, she was no longer looking for an office manager, but she was looking for someone to fill the AmeriCorps position of Family Services Coordinator, a position that was granted to the affiliate.  I thought about it and weighed the pros and cons.  The pros far outweighted the cons of accepting this position.  In fact, there really weren't any cons.  The pros, for me, were the experience of working in a new industry and meeting new people, learning new skills and using my old skills to benefit a wonderful organization, and finally helping people.  Really helping people.

 

And so, here I am, a proud member of AmeriCorps and loving every minute of my experience and looking forward to sharing it with you!