What I've gotten myself into...

Hello all and welcome to my blog! I've set this up in an attempt to keep in touch with all of you while I'm away volunteering with AmeriCorps*NCCC. I'll use this first post to get you all acquainted with what that really means...

NCCC is a 10-month residential national service program for men and women between the ages of 18-24. I'll be part of Class XV based out of Vicksburg, MS serving the Southern Region (Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina). That means I'll be taking part in various 6-8 week service projects throughout the region over the next year--working with many non-profits and/or government programs. The Southern Region is brand new this year (being a member of Class XV denotes that this is the fifteenth year AmeriCorps*NCCC has been operational) and I am honored to be a part of the inaugural class of Team Leaders--meaning I'll be leading a team of 8-12 Corps Members. While I'll be completing the same community service projects alongside my CMs, I'll also be in charge of mediation; setting the workpace; acting as liaison between my team, our project sponsor and NCCC administrative staff; and making sure everyone is pulling their own weight.

I'll spend July and August in Vicksburg (July is TL training and August is CM orientation and training) and from there I'll let you know where I'm headed as soon as I know! I expect these first couple of months to be intensive safety and first-aid training, bonding with my fellow volunteers and a healthy dose of physical training. I hope to take pictures throughout my year of service so you can all see how buff and tan I'm getting!

I've been looking forward to starting my year of service for a over a year now and I guess have sort of been building up to it for longer than that. The title of this blog, "Go Forth to Serve" is the second half of my high school's motto ("Enter to learn, go forth to serve"). I started to get involved with community service during high school, and continued at Davidson, where there is a big emphasis put on service. In this tumultuous economy and part of my life where I can afford to be sort of nomadic, I'm excited and ready to donate my time and energy to trying to improve this country even a little bit.


I'm leaving the Main Line tomorrow to head out on a week-long road trip south which includes stops in Washington, D.C., Carrboro, NC, Nashville, TN, and Jackson, MS. I'm very excited to get my adventures underway and will update when I get to Vicksburg!