This was my third AmeriCorps service and I am fortunate that I have been able to experience what I have. I have been on a backcountry trail crew, a wilderness fire crew, and was serving as a trails and access assistant with the Squam Lakes Association this year. The other day I talked with one of my friends that works for an environmental engineering firm doing wetland delineation. I quickly realized that only in the last year and a half have I gained a significant amount of experience that would normally take several years. I have lived in 4 different states within the last couple of years and learned so much and met so many people. In a normal situation I don't think I would have been able to accomplish this, but because of AmeriCorps I have come a long way in a short period of time, which I am deeply grateful for. Even more so, I was excited to do aquatic invasive removal this summer along with camping, hiking, and so many cool things this summer through the LRCC. So when I heard that the funding for the program was pulled I was at a loss for words. These training opportunities provide so much value not just to the people that go through them but the communities that we work in and even more so the industries that need these skills.
When I went to college I got my degree in computer science and thought that was the career I would stay with. What I didn't realize is that later on I would want to be outdoors more. I had a friend at the time who had some fun stories from when they served in northern Minnesota. After hearing those stories I started to look for service terms I might enjoy and I found one in Maine. At that point, I had never been to New England, but it seemed like an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. So I served two months in northern Maine on the International Appalachian Trail. I helped blaze through an overgrown old trail to open a path for through hikers. The tasks seemed simple but getting the tasks done took a lot of effort, but every person that walked through was so nice and appreciative, it made it worth it. Because of that experience I knew I wanted to keep exploring and AmeriCorps gave me that opportunity.
All of the service terms that AmeriCorps offered were in programs and projects that will always need to be done. From teaching aids to environmental work to disaster relief and much more. All of those fields have a shortage and AmeriCorps provided a way to bring in and onboard people in a safe and supportive environment and give them direct experience with people that you might work with in the future. I am glad that I have the opportunity to stay on with Squam Lakes Association continuing what I was doing, but I am sad that this same opportunity may not be provided to others in the same capacity going forward. On the job experience is by far the best way to learn and I hope that AmeriCorps can be brought back in some capacity or keep a form of this program for those in the future.