Shared by Kindra Greene- AmeriCorps, as Guest Blogger.

AmeriCorps was not a program I knew anything about when I undertook a personal goal to hike all 38 Virginia State Parks in early 2019. Three months into that goal, I read a Virginia State Parks blog post about spending my summer outdoors with AmeriCorps. It set me on a path to realizing my true career vocation and gave me an opportunity to serve in one of the organizations I value the most.

So, what is AmeriCorps? I think of it as the domestic Peace Corps. It’s a national service program that focuses on fostering community and civic engagement and improving lives. There are many different areas where one could serve ranging from literacy programs, disaster relief, finding solutions for food insecure communities and generally filling the gaps in service needs for underserved communities. There is something for every passion and interest.

That blog post I read about was for the state division of AmeriCorps working with the Virginia Service and Conservation Corps (VSCC) in our Virginia State Parks. So much of the work needed to sustain, maintain and improve our State Park lands comes from annual AmeriCorps crews. The more I read about the opportunity, the more I thought about the possibility of committing to a career change that would leave my corporate marketing world and immerse me into the world of conservation and recreation.

I applied to the AmeriCorps Interpretive Trail program with a real belief that at 40 years old with a background in higher education and corporate communication, I wouldn’t fit the model of the typical AmeriCorps applicant. It turns out, if you have a passion for improving your community and a willingness to serve and get things done, anyone is a fit for AmeriCorps!

After several interviews I was selected to serve at my home park, First Landing State Park. After thorough training that prepared me for my service as a Park Interpreter, I was immediately grateful to be providing meaningful service within my own community and giving back to something that has brought me so much joy.

Serving from May-August of 2019, I completed the Interpretive Trail 400-hour program which solidified my desire to work in conservation and resource management. In January of 2020 I went on to continue with my AmeriCorps service and am in a 1200-hour Career Development program on the Resource Specialist career track. AmeriCorps has changed my life for the better and it is a program I wish I knew about earlier.  

I hope I can bring awareness to this program and help someone else find their fit in the world of National Service. In this three part blog post, I’ll share about both of these service experiences and tell you why I AmeriCorps.

Continue learning about Kindra Greene's AmeriCorps journey, by clicking below to read the blogs in this 3 part series: 

Why I AmeriCorps? Part 2

Why I AmeriCorps? Part 3