Escape the Ordinary - July 2012

Escape the Ordinary

AMERICORPS NCCC

Volume 3, Issue 4

July 2012

AmeriCorps NCCC is a full-

time, team-based residential

program for men and women

ages 18-24. NCCC members

are assigned to one of five

campuses and organized into

teams of 10-12 members.

Campuses are located in Perry

Point, MD; Vinton, IA; Denver,

CO; Vicksburg, MS; and

Sacramento, CA. NCCC teams

serve approximately 4-6 projects

throughout their ten months of

service. NCCC serves every

state, responding to pressing

local needs that are identified by

organizations in the community.

Projects are focused on the

following five categories –

Natural and Other Disasters,

Infrastructure Improvement,

Environmental Stewardship and

Conservation, Energy

Conservation, and Urban and

Rural Development. 100

percent of members are certified

in CPR, first aid, and disaster

response; approximately 9% are

firefighter trained by the

National Park and U.S. Forest

Services. NCCC teams also

support local disaster relief

organizations to help

communities prepare for,

respond to, and recover from

natural or man-made disasters.

Since September 2005, NCCC

members from all campuses

have served more than 9.6

million hours on 5,035 projects.

All About Us Inside this issue:

Where Are We Now?

2

An Inside Look: The Southern

Region

3

Class 18 Congrats 4

Reflections from Class 18: the Pacific Region

5

The Application Process

8

Special points of interest:

See where current

teams are serving.

A reflection from 4

Pacific Region Teams

An Inside Look at the

Southern Region

campus

AmeriCorps NCCC’s Southern Region - Delta 7.

AmeriCorps NCCC’s Southern Region teams working at Hardin Park in New Orleans, LA.

FEMA Corps Team Leaders receiving a campus tour in Vicksburg, MS.

Atlantic Region Perry Point, MD North Central Region Vinton, IA Pacific Region Sacramento, CA Southern Region Vicksburg, MS Southwest Region Denver, CO

Where Are We Now? Click these links to visit each campuses’

Facebook page.

Note: You will have to be logged in to

access each page.

Bridgeport, CT— Buffalo 4, representing the Atlantic Region, is working with Habitat for Humanity—Coastal Fairfield County.

They are conducting framing, hanging drywall, installing windows/doors/siding and signage, decking houses and painting.

Louisville, KY—North Central’s Cedar 5 is currently working with Metro United Way. Some of their tasks include: coordinating

management of volunteer response; to include data entry, work assignments, donation sorting, phone banks and daily reporting to

stakeholders.

Pierre, SD—Oak 6, representing the North Central Region, is working with Oahe Family YMCA. They are mentoring youth

through outdoor educational programs.

Bangor, ME—The Atlantic Region’s Raven 5 is currently working with the City of Bangor. The team is rebuilding steps, edging,

grading, resurfacing trails, clearing brush and overgrowth, repairing outlooks, and supporting a summer camp program.

Plymouth, VT—Also representing the Atlantic Region, Moose 2 is working with Vermont State Parks. They are peeling and

forming poles, notching and setting posts, securing rails, and applying protective sealant for the recreation of a 600-foot traditional

Civilian Conservation Corps style fence at Coolidge State Park.

Fargo, ND—Maple 3, from the North Central Region, is working with River Keepers. Their project includes riverfront cleanup of

fallen trees, debris and shrubs deposited by floodwaters.

**Note** No projects are listed for the Pacific and Southwest Region. Members from these two regions have

graduated. No projects are listed for the Southern Region as members are currently on Summer break.

Want to Serve for a Day? Serve with a current team of NCCC members at a project in your area!

Contact [email protected] for more information.

**Please note, we may be unable to accommodate all “Serve for a Day” requests due to sponsor restrictions.**

Volume 3, Issue 4 Page 2

http://www.facebook.com/#!/NCCCAtlanticRegion

http://www.facebook.com/#!/americorpsncccnorthcentral

http://www.facebook.com/#!/AmeriCorpsNCCCPacific

http://www.facebook.com/#!/AmeriCorpsNCCCSouthern

http://www.facebook.com/#!/AmeriCorpsNCCCSouthwest

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Serve%20For%20a%20Day


An Inside Look: Southern Region

Continuing with our “Inside Look” series, this issue of Escape

the Ordinary will highlight the Southern Region, located in

Vicksburg, Mississippi.

About the Vicksburg Campus

The AmeriCorps Southern Region Campus is located in Vicksburg, MS

just 45 minutes west of Jackson, the state’s capital. Members serving at

the Southern Region will serve throughout Mississippi, Louisiana,

Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West

Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

The Southern Region campus is located on the grounds of the All

Saints Episcopal School. This historic institution owned by the dioceses

of Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Western Louisiana opened its

doors in 1908 as an all-girls college. The 40-acre campus is home to

nine buildings, an administrative and classroom building, five dorms, a

chapel and a gym. The property also includes two soccer fields, tennis

courts, and a pavilion.

Vicksburg is known for its deep history in both Civil War history and

Southern Culture. Known as the “Red Carpet City of the South”,

Vicksburg is truly a city of Southern hospitality. It is important to note

that Vicksburg is also home to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’

Vicksburg District whose different centers and stations in the area

create one of their largest civil works entities. Essentially, from their facilities in Vicksburg, they manage the Mississippi River from beginning

to end and provide critical support to both the military and civilian

sector through development of new technology.

One of the many lounge areas located

on the Southern Region campus

Inside a dormitory room

The swimming pool!

Physical Fitness

Physical training is an important part of the AmeriCorps NCCC

experience. PT will be required three times a week for at least 45

minutes each time. The activities will be determined by teams and

facilitated by Team Leaders. Activities could include running, going

to a gym, playing a team sport, or practicing yoga – there is plenty

of room for variety and creativity. The Southern Region campus

also challenges Corps Members to improve their physical

condition during the program by conducting periodic baseline

tests. During CTI, all Corps Members will be timed on a 1.5 mile

run and will do as many sit-ups in one minute and push-ups in one

minute as they can. The test will be repeated during transition

weeks, so members can measure their improvement.


to the 250 members from the Pacific Region who graduated on July 19,

2012 and the 282 members from the Southwest Region who graduated on

July 27, 2012. Welcome to the NCCC alumni family!

Pacific Region Southwest Region

Reflections from Class 18: The Pacific Region


For this issue of Escape the Ordinary, I

spoke with members from Blue 3, Gold

4, Green 3 and Silver 5, all from the

Pacific Region about their past service

year and their memorable moments.

BLUE 3

Give our readers a brief summary of

your 4th round.

Jenna Lamoreaux (TL): We had a split

round for our final round. We spent the first

half in Oakland, Oregon working for

Lincoln Middle School. We spent most of

our time improving their Community

Garden by installing a drip irrigation

system, designing and building a tool

shed, installing new plant beds and

weeding. We also spent a lot of our time

improving the outdoor school by

improving the access trails,

removing invasive species and

tending to some recently planted

trees. Our time at Lincoln Middle

School was also spent tutoring and

mentoring some of the students in

attendance.

We spent the second half of our

round in Reno, Nevada working for

the Washoe County School District.

We worked at over eighty schools

inventorying their on-site

chemicals and assisting in their

school revitalization efforts. In the

revitalization we moved furniture,

cleaned classrooms and helped with

general cleaning of the schools.

What was your favorite project this past

service year? And why?

Brian Chase: My favorite project this year

was a week-long project in Bolinas,

California. It was my favorite because of

the location it was in. We stayed in a

beautiful, resort type of house, looking

over the Pacific Ocean. We got to live in a

place for a week that I would never be able

to live unless I was in this program, and it

was beautiful.

How has your team grown over the past

ten months?

Yuan Lin Qiu: My team was able to get

along from the beginning, which made

everything fairly easy. There were bumps

along the way, but we’ve all made it

through and have formed special bonds

along the way.

Your team’s most memorable moment

of the year?

JL: My team’s most memorable moment

involved our favorite thing, food. We

participated in a food eating challenge in

San Francisco called the Pho Challenge.

While we did not succeed, many laughs

and memories were made that night at the

restaurant.

Your team’s most trying moment of the

year?

BC: Our team’s most trying moment of the

service year was our first round project in

Alpaugh, California. We were staying in a

house that, soon after we moved in, got

infested with mice. It was pretty gross

seeing mice everywhere, but the problem

was soon fixed, and while the mice issue

was being fixed our sponsor put us up in a

very nice hotel in Bakersfield California, so

it all worked out.

And finally, what is one piece of advice

you would give to prospective Corps

Members?

YLQ: Pack a variety of clothes no matter

where you project is, because you just

never know. My assumptions of the

weather in every project location have all

been at least slightly off in my service year.

GOLD 4


your 4th round.

Mackenzie Hunter (TL): Our team had a

split 4th round, meaning that our 8-week

project round was split between two

shorter projects. We spent four weeks at

Camp Sweyolaken in Couer d’Alene,

Idaho, and four weeks with Habitat for

Humanity in Portland, Oregon.



Meredith Trevino: My favorite project this

year would probably be the work we did

with Habitat for Humanity in Portland, OR. I

learned a lot about construction and how

houses are built, while also being exposed

to a variety of new tools. Habitat for

Humanity is a great organization that has

positive and outgoing people working with

it. It meant a lot for the team and me to be

able to interact with future homeowners.

We were able to hammer side by side to

build their future home, which was a

thrilling experience.


ten months?

Elizabeth Kelley: Our team started off

with 10 very individual people from 10

different backgrounds and ways of doing

things. In the beginning, we were divided

and got through the day by simply

tolerating each other. With our Team

Leaders persistence and support, in

addition to help from our Peer Helpers, our

team got to know each other on a deeper

level and we found that we had more

similarities than we thought. With time,

those divides decreased and we were able

to work better as a team. Now, we work as

a team and choose to spend time with each

other outside of work. Our team has

become a family and acts as such with the

arguments and lots of laughter. We all love

each other for our good and bad, which I

did not think would happen after our first

Continued on Page 6


week together.

Your team’s most memorable moment of

the year?

MH: For me, one of the most memorable

moments of the year was when we did an

ISP with a nonprofit organization in Los

Angeles that offers day programs for

children and adults with developmental

disabilities. We danced the night away at

the holiday party and made friends with

many of the participants with disabilities. It

was great to see the team pushed outside of

their comfort zone, and I think it set the tone

for many of the experiences to come.


year?

EK: During CTI, each unit goes to Camp

Mendocino to do team building activities

and to get a sense of what NCCC is all

about. There is one team building activity

where each member puts two fingers on a

hula-hoop and is asked to raise the hoop

over their heads together. This one simple

task was not possible for our team and the

reactions it created are laughable now, but

very intense at the moment. Team

members began to wonder what would

happen if the challenge wasn’t a hula-hoop,

but a real challenge. Were people always

going to walk away in anger? Were we

going to yell at each other to do things

correctly when no one knew the answer?

This hula-hoop brought up a lot of team

issues and is something that the team will

always remember and are thankful we

were able to work out all those challenges.

What are your Life after AmeriCorps

plans as of right now?

MT: I plan on doing another year of

AmeriCorps! I will be serving in Denver,

Colorado as a Denver Public Schools corps

member. I will be working with youth who

are at-risk for dropping out of school. This

will involve daily contacts with students and

families, home visits and rallying

community involvement. Although it is

different from NCCC, I know my

experience has prepared me very well!

GREEN 3


your 4th round.

Lauren Brown (TL): Green 3 has had a

very exciting fourth round. We were

fortunate enough to get an amazing spilt

round with two great projects. The first half

of the round was spent in Portland, Oregon

serving with Habitat for Humanity Portland

Metro/East. During our time there we

focused our efforts on helping the

organization complete eight housing units,

supported construction companies during

a builder’s blitz where they completed four

houses in one week, and helped further the

beginning stages of framing on four units.

The second half of the round was spent in

San Francisco serving with the Presidio

Trust. The team served on a variety of

projects. We have supported the irrigation

department in replacing and repairing

existing sprinkler systems. The team has

served with the grounds department in an

effort to plant native plants around the

national park as well as rid the park of

invasive plants. Additionally, the team has

served with the trust’s forestry department

laying compost and mulch to improve

water absorption for recently planted

native trees. The Presidio trust has been

an amazing sponsor with such warm and

inviting site supervisors. The team feels

very lucky to have had such amazing round

four!


ten months?

Adunola Ademiluyi: Whenever I talk to

my parents or friends from back home,

they always tell me that something is

different about me, that I sound more like

an adult now. It is strange to rap my head

around but in fact, it is very true. I think the

same also applies to my team. Over the

past ten months everyone on my team has

grown in their own way but I think that

overall, everyone has grown and matured

in a positive way. Being in this program has

helped us begin the process of figuring out

what it is that we all want to do with our

lives and most importantly, what we don’t

want to do. We have all gotten the chance

to kind of take a step back and evaluate

ourselves and how we deal with others

around us. I think that living and working

with the same people really helps to

broaden our perspectives and leaves us

more open minded than we were in the

beginning. Working with the non profits

and communities throughout these past 10

months also contributes to the growth my

team has undergone by showing us a

different view of lives outside of the ones

we are used to. I think that an experience

like this really helps to make us all better

people.

Your team’s most memorable moment

of the year?

Phillip Dukes: Our team’s most

memorable moment for me came during

our first service round with the Stelzer

County Park in Lakeside, CA. That day, our

project supervisor visited us down trail at

the worksite, surprising us with a series of

games to celebrate our hard work. The

most hilarious and memorable event of the

day was a relay race which included

balancing an Oreo on the participant’s own

head and moving it into the participant’s

mouth without any assistance from the

participant’s hands. I laughed until I could

scarcely breathe. I feel so thankful for the

event, which helped our team bond with

our sponsors and take time to celebrate

our service.



LB: My favorite project during this past

year of service was our third round project

on Catalina Island. The team and I served

with the Catalina Island Conservancy. Our

service included trail building and

maintenance along the Trans Catalina Trail,

invasive plant removal, and fire prevention

and maintenance projects around the

island. The community on Catalina Island

is very tightknit and they were all very

inviting. The team created great

relationships with many staff members. As

well, the team was able to take advantage

of many amenities of living on an island.

Regularly I was able to kayak and paddle

board, we spent many days out on the

boat, playing with dolphins and searching

for sharks. My favorite location on the

island was at Little Harbor at sunset, it was

the most amazing experience of my

lifetime and I miss the island daily.

Continued on Page 7



year?

PD: My team’s most trying moment

occurred during our second round of

service with the Boys and Girls Club of

Truckee Meadows. While our service with

the Boys and Girls Club was very impactful

for our team overall, our project mission

was very open ended, with occasional

periods of sporadic working and waiting.

These moments of lower activity presented

a challenge for our team moral, as some

team members began to feel listless or

unproductive. In the end, though, our team

was able to create new tasks to fill our

workflow and successfully completed the

round.



AA: As of right now, I plan on going back to

Maryland and starting graduate school. I

have accepted a State and National position

at a health center that I will do while in

school.

And finally, what is one piece of advice

you would give to prospective Corps

Members?

LB: Be flexible and open to all new things

you are about to experience. This year has

great potential to be one of the best

experiences of your life. You have to be

willing to take advantage of it. Time is very

fleeting so be present in every moment

and appreciate everything that you can.

SILVER 5


your 4th round.

Sarah Shellenbarger (TL): Silver Five

spent its fourth round serving Camp Korey,

a camp for children with serious and life-

altering medical conditions that is located

on the original Carnation Farm. Our main

focus was to prepare the property for

camp’s summer season and to design and

construct a prize-winning Fourth of July

parade float to represent Camp Korey in

the community.



Corey Yula: My favorite project this year

would have to be round two, where we

spent our time at the Anza-Borrego Desert

State Park in southern California. When we

first found out about the project and that

we’d be camping in tents I have to admit

we weren’t too excited, but within a few

weeks we felt one with nature. Something

about roughing it in the middle of nowhere

and breaking down the boundaries

between the team made my time in the

desert the most influential experience of

my life.


ten months?

Jean Gose: From the first day to the last

day, my team has grown tremendously

over the past ten months. I will never

forget the moment I met my team for the

first time. I thought to myself “What in

the world did I get myself into?” We all

had different emotions floating around

that dinner table that night, but I never

imagined from that moment I would

become so incredibly close with nine

other people that were completely

different from me. Whenever you throw

ten people of such a diverse spectrum

into one room it can become extremely

overwhelming. My team overcame

many obstacles and challenges and with

the help of such an amazing team leader,

all ten of us will leave this program a

different person from when we came into it.


year?

SS: During round three, we tutored and

mentored at a local elementary school. Our

team made connections with the kids and

the teachers and learned a lot about the

community. Unfortunately, our team had to

end the project early and unexpectedly.

The hardest part was leaving the students

behind after making those bonds with the

students and knowing how valuable our

presence was at the school.

Your team’s most memorable moment of

the year?

CY: During our fourth and final round we

got the chance to construct a float for the

local 4th of July parade. We came up with a

basic concept and worked for two weeks

straight in the hopes of bringing our idea to

life. By the 4th we had constructed a 12-foot

tree made of chicken-wire and paper

mache that was covered with paper hearts.

It was extraordinary, and the parade crowd

loved it so much we were awarded with the

1st place trophy for floats and an honorary

award from the Grand Marshall.



JG: As of right now, my Life after

AmeriCorps plans are still up in the air. I

will be moving back to Florida and

hopefully going to Grad school. I know that

after completing ten months of service to

my country, I have been inspired to give

back. I would love to work in the non-profit

world and help as many people as I can. I

love to know that I made a difference in

someone’s life, and I will continue to make

that my mission in life for many years to

come.

AMERICORPS NCCC

1201 New York Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20525 Phone: 800-942-2677 Fax: 202-606-3459

Email: [email protected] http://www.americorps.gov/nccc http://my.americorps.gov

Follow NCCC Online:

How does placement work in NCCC?

NCCC employs a “rolling admissions” process,

similar to many colleges. We have a few

rounds of placements during the application

period and additional rounds of placements

once our application period closes. We

continue to fill slots as they become available,

including up to the day before a campus opens.

All selections and placements are random.

We have far more qualified applicants than

positions available, and unfortunately cannot

guarantee a position to all qualified applicants.

Notes From the Author

Congratulations to those of you who

have been selected to serve in Class 19

of AmeriCorps NCCC this fall and our

inaugural FEMA Corps class this summer!

You’re going to have one amazing

journey and I wish you all the best during

your year of service. Additional

invitations for Class 19 are coming

soon!

Thanks to Blue 3, Silver 5, Gold 4 and

Green 3 for your Class 18 reflections.

Special thanks to Sandra Hajt and Kelly

Crowe for facilitating that process.

If you have any suggestions on other

topics that you would like to see covered

in this newsletter, let us know by

emailing us at NCCC.

Yours in Service,

Kevin

What does my NCCC status mean?

You’ve heard about the amazing things that AmeriCorps NCCC members do

and now you’re ready to be a part of this great program. You apply but then

you ask, “What does Under Review mean”? Well, we’re going to break

down those statuses right here.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.americorps.gov/nccc

http://my.americorps.gov/

http://www.americorps.gov/nccc

http://ncccblog.americorps.gov/

http://www.facebook.com/AmeriCorpsNCCC

http://twitter.com/AmeriCorpsNCCC

http://www.youtube.com/user/nationalservice

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Newsletter%20Suggestions

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Escape the Ordinary - July 2012