Escape the

Ordinary November 2012

Volume 3, Issue 8

AMERICORPS

NCCC

All About NCCC

ESCAPE THE ORDINARY

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.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Leave Your Mark: A FEMA Corps Member Spotlight 1

Getting Things Done: A Graduation Celebration 2

Boots on the Ground with Summit 7 3

Getting Things Done II: An Induction Celebration 4

Follow My Lead: An Alumni Perspective 5

The Application Process 7

VOLUME 3 , ISSUE 8

Leave Your Mark: A FEMA Corps Member Spotlight

How did you first learn about

AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps?

Initially, I was researching the Peace

Corps when I stumbled upon

AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps. FEMA

Corps caught my eye due to the

disaster-specific, domestic work

associated

with the

program.

Why did

you choose

to apply?

As a recent

college

graduate, I

decided I

had spent

plenty of time working on my mind—it

was time to work on my heart. FEMA

Corps acts as the perfect portal to

combine my schooling in Psychology

and Sociology, my professionalism, and

my benevolence into one commitment.

What has been one of your favorite

memories thus far?

Receiving the FEMA specialized training

in Anniston, Alabama was very

motivating for me; listening to the FEMA

officials speak of their real-life

interactions with disaster survivors, all

the while learning about the way FEMA

operates as an organization was

extremely interesting.

Tell us about something that you’ve

done for the first time since starting.

Coming from a rural community in

Indiana, I have never gone through a

natural disaster before. Pictures and

stories can only do so much to explain

the hardships these survivors endure in

their day-to-day lives. Working directly

with disaster survivors is truly an

inspiring opportunity; survivors who

have lost their own

belongings and

bearings are still out

assisting their

families, friends,

and

neighbors.

What has

been the

most

challenging

part of your

term of service thus far? How

have you worked to overcome

that challenge?

At times it is difficult to see the

effect that such minute things such

as checking one simple box can

have—the right boxes checked can be

one of the determining factors that lead

up to a disaster survivor obtaining a

place to live. I keep that notion in mind

and keep reminding myself that even

the smallest things can lead to making a

lasting impact.

Your term of service just started a few

months ago. What are some of your

goals as you progress through the

year?

I plan to build upon the knowledge I

have learned thus far, carrying my skills

with me from disaster to disaster. I also

hope to put my abilities to use in the

community—volunteering more of my

free time to other organizations and

agencies in the area.

And lastly, please share any advice

that you might have for prospective

Corps Members who are interested in

FEMA Corps.

Anyone who is interested in FEMA

Corps should definitely be willing to live

a life that is very different than the

norm—from living in ships to working 80

hours a week—every day brings

something new and challenging. You

must be “FEMA flexible”!

Page 1

This month’s FEMA Corps Member spotlight comes from Kelsey Stephens, currently serving at the Southern Region campus (Vicksburg, MS). A graduate of Ball State University, Kelsey studied Psychology, Sociology and Interpersonal Relations. Kelsey is a proud member of Bayou 6 and her team’s FEMA specialty role is Individual Assistance (IA). I spoke with Kelsey about her FEMA Corps experience and the great work that she and other members are providing to those in the NJ/NY area.

Kelsey (L) pictured with CNCS Director Wendy Spencer and FEMA Deputy Administrator Rich Serino.

Additional spotlights from FEMA Corps members can be found by

clicking on this link:

http://issuu.com/americorpsselectionplacement/docs/fema_cm_sp

otlights/1

to the 186 members from the North Central region who graduated on November 14,

2012 and the 137 members from the Atlantic Region who graduated on November 15,

2012. Welcome to the NCCC alumni family. Best of luck on your future endeavors.

ESCAPE THE ORDINARY Page 2

Atlantic Region North Central Region

Page 3

What were your team’s thoughts as

you arrived on site for your disaster

service assignment?

Our team was full of anticipation as we

arrived in New York City ready to help

those impacted by the storm, though not

quite sure what to expect.

What has been the most surprising

moment of your assignment thus far?

We are continually surprised, in the

most positive way possible, by the

amount of support being given to

impacted areas by other communities,

both from the city and elsewhere in the

country. We have visited distribution

centers and seen incredible amounts of

donations, and volunteers have come

from all over the country in order to

provide support.

What has been the most trying

moment?

Though we know our work is beneficial

and necessary to the recovery of the

community, we wish we could be doing

more to help people individually. Some

days its hard not to just stop what we're

doing, pick up some gloves, and help

people muck out their houses or clean

up their yards.

What was the most rewarding or

memorable moment?

You can't please everybody in any field

of work, and we have discovered that to

be the case, especially in disaster relief.

However, for every disgruntled

individual we may encounter, there is

also an appreciative one. Every time we

hear a “thank you” or “you're going a

good job”, it is the most rewarding

experience any of us could ask for.

You’re currently providing support to

those impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

Why do you feel that disaster relief

work is so important?

Before witnessing a disaster first hand, it

is hard to truly grasp the scope of

devastation. But now having seen homes

destroyed and people’s belongings

strewn out in yards and into the streets,

we are able to understand on a deeper

level how thoroughly the storm

impacted every aspect of a person's life.

Knowing this, you realize all that you

have to be thankful in your own life,

knowing your home and family are all

safe and sound. Those impacted aren't

all so lucky though, and because we

already have so much to be thankful for,

we want to work to restore what they lost

so one day they might be whole again.

And finally, what is one piece of

advice you would give to prospective

Corps Members interested in FEMA

Corps?

FEMA Corps is full of many unexpected

turns and surprises. From the start, no

one knew quite exactly what they had

signed themselves up for, and as time

goes on, we still are not always sure

what we are doing. This comes as a

challenge, but also as an opportunity to

grow, develop our leadership skills and

learn to become more self sufficient. The

best advice I could give to any

prospective Corps Member is be

prepared for change, because it is

guaranteed on a daily basis in FEMA

Corps.

...with Summit 7

Summit 7, a FEMA Corps team from the Southern Region

campus (Vicksburg, MS) is currently stationed in Staten

Island working with the Community Relations branch of

FEMA. They canvas neighborhoods providing residents

with information on how to register with FEMA and note

any critical needs observed. They also briefly worked

with an Individual Assistance team at a mobile Disaster

Recovery Center, helping people who were unable to

make it to permanent DRC's register for assistance. I

spoke with Summit 7 CM, Samual Poppen about their

experiences in New York.

Check out the following article written

about Summit 7:

http://www.fema.gov/current-employee-

articles/fema-corps-members-desire-serve

Page 4

to the 304 members from the Southwest Region and the 294 members from the Pacific

Region on their successful induction into Class XIX of AmeriCorps NCCC. Have a

great service year!

Southwest Region Pacific Region

ESCAPE THE ORDINARY Page 5

Follow My Lead: An Alumni Perspective

Follow My Lead: An Alumni Perspective spotlights an

AmeriCorps NCCC alum who continues to carry forth the

AmeriCorps commitment to get things done.

This edition of Escape the Ordinary will focus on Michael Muir, a

former NCCC member from the Pacific Region (located in

Sacramento, California).

Michael Muir served on Silver 2 in Class 16 of AmeriCorps

NCCC. Griffith Ryan-Roberts, also an NCCC alum and an

Alumni Leadership Council member for the Pacific Region spoke

with Michael about his NCCC experience and the impact that it

has had on his life.

(Note: You can also read Griffith’s spotlight by clicking his name

above)

How many teammates did you have as

a Corps Member? How many do you

still keep in contact with?

We were a team of 10 including our

Team Leader. I actually keep in contact

with a couple of them. I actually just

invited one of my fellow teammates to

come out and live with me for a bit. We

have also had one reunion and got like

six of us together in Boston.

What were some of your projects?

Which was your favorite?

We had 4 projects but one was a double

round and one was split into 2 different

spikes. The 4 projects were the Utah

Food Bank, Sacramento Zoo, Camp

Sealth, and Plumas National Forest. I

really enjoyed them all for many

different reasons but being a wild land

firefighter was an amazing experience

plus doing it for a couple of rounds

meant that we really got to know our site

supervisors.

What were your most

interesting/challenging

accommodations?

All of our accommodations were

amazing. We stayed at 2 different

camps and lived in our own fire house.

One of the more challenging aspects

was that two times we were in isolated

areas. Once we lived on an island so we

had to make a real effort to get into

Seattle to do ISPs and the other one we

were in the middle of the forest and it

took us about an hour and a half to get

into the nearest town to do any type of

ISP.

What are your fondest overall

memories?

I think just hanging out with the team

and getting back for transitions and

sharing stories and seeing old friends. I

mean fighting fires was awesome and

being a part of a team that you really

put your life on the line for was amazing.

I also like how we, as an AmeriCorps

team got special props from the Mayor

of Chico for our work with the local

Habitat for Humanity.

What was something you did for the

first time?

Cook my own meal. Just kidding. I think

setting up a lot of ISPs was new for me.

Not to mention that when I set them up, I

tried to explore new service projects

that were outside of my comfort zone.

This included working with kids, bikes,

the homeless, pets, community gardens,

gift wrapping, and many others. You

name it and I tried to do it.

What was the most outrageous thing

that you did?

I went swimming in the Pacific Ocean up

near Seattle in the middle of

February for a solid 30 minutes to get

our team a free pie. I nearly

gave myself hypothermia.

What was the most challenging part of

your ten months of service? How did

you overcome these challenges?

Probably saying goodbye. We had a

real cohesive team and while we had

our bumps in the road, it wasn't anything

we couldn't get through. Running the

lead Pulaski on a fire line crew for ten

hours a day is really really demanding,

especially physically.

Continued on Page 7

ESCAPE THE ORDINARY

Page 6 Why do you think national service is

important?

It serves to better yourself as well as

others. In a lot of ways, we are an

inspiration to others to show that there

are people who care a whole lot. It’s

really hard to explain but once you

spend enough time volunteering, you

really do get a sense of pride and

privilege. Also after a while, you really

get to see how many people’s lives you

get to touch throughout your service

year.

How has your NCCC experience

affected your life?

Well considering that I am now on my

third year of AmeriCorps, it has left a

lasting impression on me. I believe that

what it will boil down to is that I don't

think I can go back or start up some type

of job that doesn't really help others in

the same way that doing NCCC/

AmeriCorps does. Not to mention all the

lifelong friends that I have picked up

along the way.

Do you have any advice for

prospective Corps Members?

I would say to do it! NCCC is a great way

for you to serve a lot of people and

surround yourself with a new family of

team members. I would also use it as an

opportunity to explore many different

aspects of service through many

different agencies. For instance, I did

several ISPs with plenty of different

organizations and realized that I am not

so much a kid or pet type of person but

instead loved bikes and building. So that

led me down the path of working with

Bike & Build as well as doing my second

year of AmeriCorps with Habitat for

Humanity. It is a great way to get to

know yourself and it’s fun to do

it as well.

We are currently accepting applications for our NCCC and

FEMA Corps Fall 2013 cycle. APPLY TODAY!

https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=47804&fromSearch=true - AmeriCorps NCCC Fall 2013

https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=47806&fromSearch=

true - FEMA Corps Fall 2013

Check out these photos from Mike’s service year!

1201 New York Ave

Washington, DC 20525

FOLLOW NCCC ONLINE:

AMERICORPS NCCC

Phone: 800-942-2677

E-mail: ANCCC@cns.gov

We’re on the Web

www.americorps.gov/nccc

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.

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 offer positions 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.

Additional invitations for Winter 2013 and FEMA Corps are coming soon.

Stay tuned!

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information about

NCCC.