It’s Only Been a Month?
Written by Shane Dermanjian, Outreach AmeriCorps Member, Year 18
So it looks like I will be the author of the first blog post of Year 18. Let me tell you why, one month in, I already think this AmeriCorps program is the bee’s knees and why I feel like I am right where I want to be. I was initially hesitant to apply to any AmeriCorps program because I was unsure how I felt about leaving behind all of my friends back home. I had also originally envisioned working at a for-profit company after graduating just based off my past work experience. I had studied abroad albeit for only for three months and had a very limited knowledge base pertaining to environmental and disaster relief issues, but something in my mind clicked and I knew I had to do this program. The desire to help my community and fully immerse myself in a year of service ultimately outweighed these concerns. I drove up from home, walked into the Harborview Conference Room at the Barnstable County Complex where we all gathered on the first day, and have not looked back since.
Looking back, it did not even take the entirety of the first month to feel at home. Everyone was incredibly excited to meet each other and we all shared a common goal of wanting to make this a positive experience. On our own we had all already liked to “get things done” per the AmeriCorps motto, so it was only natural that as a team we could get even more things done. I think that the teamwork aspect of my time on the Cape so far deserves the most attention. Even while sitting in Harborview for training, I still feel like we are learning as a team. If I were to forget a certain aspect of training while in the field, I am absolutely certain that another team member would have my back and come through where I could not and vice-versa. An AmeriCorps team is no ordinary one. Again, we all share the desire to “get things done”. This community-minded focus moves us in the right direction not only to help our community on the Cape, but to make our own little Bourne house community the best it could possibly be. This is why I feel at home and why I look forward to seeing the face of each of my housemates every day–we all genuinely care and that is hard to come by.
