THE HEART OF SERVICE BY LONI NEILSON-KATTELL

      Sometimes the best thing that you can do is step back and look at the heart of the matter. Coming to the close of my service, taking a step back and remembering my original intentions for the project was something I wish I would have done more throughout my service. I know that all too often I get overwhelmed from all that is going on in the world and taking a deep breath to stay in the moment is the bravest thing anyone can do. Having a consistent reminder to view others through the strengths-based perspective and use the theory of change to inform my service is the foundation that holds space for the work. This reminder is a challenge all in itself! However, I quickly learned how reframing my mindset with these two tools set the tone for the youth programs I was serving with EmpowerMT.
     Our Youth programs here at EmpowerMT are geared toward providing a safe space to the most vulnerable populations in our community. Within this space, the youth build relationships with peers and adults through open non-judgmental dialogue, transforming conflict, learning how social groups experience mistreatment and develop their skills as youth leaders in action. All of these skills are backed by our partnership with Hello Insight and the Aspen Institute through Social and Emotional Learning. Incorporating theory, service learning, SEL capacities, and EmpowerMT’s mission into the work has been a very impactful experience on a personal and professional level.
       Not only did I have the opportunity to learn about this curriculum and work with an amazing youth team staff, but I also facilitated the curriculum with the groups and watched the youth explore their curiosities, listened as they told their stories, and affirmed their experiences and leadership skills. The social and emotional wellbeing of our youth is a topic that often gets overlooked in comparison to academics. I’m a firm believer that Academic self-efficacy is as essential as a positive identity, contribution to the community at large, social skills with others, and critical consciousness of our systems. Working with EmpowerMT and youth programs have been a tremendous process to explore. My service term with MTCC has also allowed me to find my heart within the work and know what it’s like to give back, feel a sense of belonging, and love service.
     Throughout the entire process, I’ve had to remind myself that I will most likely not see the impact of my service. However, this work is still essential. Serving your community matters. One quote that often brings a new perspective during my time of service is from MLK Jr. “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” I have faith that I am probably at the beginning of something truly amazing and don’t even know it yet. I can’t wait to see how the youth leaders that I have the pleasure to serve with will shape the future impact and make our communities safer and more inclusive for all.

DON'T UNDERESTIMATE US: THE POWER OF TEEN GIRLS BY CLARA MOSER

GUTS campers and Clara at the summit of their hike to Blossom Lake

This summer I had the opportunity to continue my work with the YWCA’s GUTS (Girls Using Their Strength) program as a Summer Adventure Leader. On the Summer Adventure trips middle and high-school aged girls and gender diverse youth explore the backcountry of Montana on week-long backpacking trips. During the trips participants engage in activities that delve into issues around body image, healthy relationships, gender identity, sexuality, and activism. The goal of these trips are not only to provide participants with a basic knowledge of backpacking, but also to develop leadership skills and social-emotional well being in an active and supportive environment.

Last week, I served as a leader on a seven day backpacking trip with ten high-school aged girls on the Flathead Reservation.
That’s right -- seven whole days in the backcountry with ten teenagers and no showers, no toilets, and no cell phone service for miles.
The trip was a reminder of my own capacity to grow and learn, and of the power I sometimes forget that I house in my legs, arms, and heart. A power that allows me to haul heavy loads up mountains while singing and laughing, and to connect with girls ten years younger than myself.
I knew already that teenage girls are powerhouses of creativity, empathy, and unabashed joy, but this trip reminded me of the power and strength that can be found in the goofiness of girlhood and in close-knit bonds that young people form with one another.
Whether it comes from cracking each other up over the dinner of beans and rice that made everyone run off into the woods to poop IMMEDIATELY, or from stopping during a challenging hike to support a group member who is panicked and out of breath, these girls put their whole selves into creating a momentary family of support and love.
On our van rides to new locations  I acted as the DJ; fielding requests for every kind of music under the sun-- from Disney’s “Tangled” to (yes, you guessed it) Old Town Road by Lil Nas X and, at my insistence, a very important group introduction to  TLC and Destiny’s Child.
Each night we gathered in a closing circle to discuss the trials and triumphs of the day. The girls had “courage beads” that they could give to one other group member to show their appreciation for something that happened over the course of the day. During these evening circles I was amazed by the vulnerability each girl would show in their willingness to discuss their personal struggles. I was careful to notice if the beads were repeatedly given to the same person or used to exclude anyone, but instead they surprised me by giving “courage beads” to new people each night just for the comfort of sharing a laugh, having a good conversation, or making it through a tough day.

Our group came from a range of different economic backgrounds, various living situations and  life experiences over the course of their 14-15 years. In response to these differences the girls came together and cared for each other with tenderness, laughter, and a great sense of empathy. I had thought that a major challenge on the trip would be working with the group to bridge divisions, but the girls began that work themselves before I or the other leaders had to step in. They did not shy away from difficult conversations, but rather asked questions of one another and made a conscious effort to include everyone into all activities and conversations.

While laying in my sleeping bag one night I thought to myself, “this is what community accountability and responsibility can look like.” There were tough moments; plenty of tears and squabbles, yet a fierce dedication within the group to work through these hardships together. They made sure to check in with one another every day with attentive and open hearts.

There is something so special about that time in life right before adulthood when your emotions are raw and relationships feel especially fragile. Your relationships with others are what begin to help you make sense of yourself as an individual within a collective. I feel so fortunate to have been with these girls for a week-long journey and to have witnessed them work together through their struggles. Teen girls are a force to be reckoned with.

GUTS Leaders posing on a mountain top

LEGACY BY EVERETT WALKER

As I near the end of my first year of service, I’m looking at this paper and quite frankly I’m at a loss to capture it all.  There have been numerous things that have had an impact on me both large and small.  There have been days of questions like, “ what am I doing?” and days of breakthroughs where a small encounter helps me feel reassured that I am in the right place at the right time.

I’m late writing this mostly because of all the summer activities that have been happening at the Fort.  We have had two of our own summer camps, the annual 4th at the Fort even, and numerous days and multiple times per day of other area summer camps being involved with many exhibits at the Fort, I sit and look at that and think of all the lives I’ve had 1-3 hours to impact.

Most days, I spend being watchful, caring, warm and educational.  I find myself most comfortable with the individuals dealing with some degree of autism or other learning deficiency.  They tend to be my favorite, mostly because when there is finally a breakthrough it’s such a great victory and I can share in their joy and build that bond with them.

One of my happiest moments has been in getting my new tame tag at the Fort.  It no longer says, “AmeriCorps” it says “Volunteer” a title I earned through sweat, long days and weeks, countless programs and wild days with even more wild children.  I now am finishing up the Legacy, a few more pages some touches to a few pieces here and there.  It is truly a legacy, we have built awesome partnerships, programs and ideas.  I have found new ways to bring the stories of the Fort to children that allows them to connect through art to those have been stationed here or imprisoned here.

I still believe that the service is the greatest reward but beyond that I have come to appreciate the smallest hellos, the opportunity to help someone who may not be exactly the demographic of student looking for college access.  I find a great amount of joy in the days where I can give an impromptu tour of an exhibit and open someone’s eyes.  I interpret well, I use my voice and energy to captivate the audience I use visceral words to bring the emotion right to the core of the audience.  I want them to connect to the story, I want them to feel what the people in the Bella Vista Concentration Camp felt, how the people who traveled west during the expansion, the Natives who felt such pain and anguish at the loss of culture and land.  I want them to feel Corporal Howards extreme tale of Vietnam and how it on a much larger scale than just he affected our country so deeply that we are still following policies written then.

At the museum, I have made a small home, a bag of preferred coffee in the freezer, my hot fries on the shelf, lunch in the fridge, the front desk volunteers who have met my family and I. The list goes on for how I have built such a place of belonging here.  I’ll miss the fort but I’ll be here when I can afford to be and when I can manage a second year of AmeriCorps with wanting to still be active at the Fort.  I am grateful for this experience and hopeful for what the future will bring during my next year of service with Broader Impacts.

TRANSITIONS BY NICOLE LEMASTER

As my AmeriCorps service year nears its end, I try to piece together all the new ideas and skills that I've learned and package them into just a few sentences. How do you compact a whole year’s worth of experiences into a few words? Without cutting corners and truly giving it the meaningful praise it deserves, I choose the word "transitions" to perfectly convey what this year as an AmeriCorps Leader at SpectrUM Discovery Area has meant to me.

We all transitioned into new lives when we made this commitment to serve. We left our families and our comfort zones to see new places and faces while trying to make an impact. Personally, I transitioned into a hand holding, spaceship engineering, crime detective, potion making wizard play buddy. On Wednesday I could a brain surgeon then on Friday be a computer programmer designing the next big app. SpectrUM Discovery has allowed me to wear so many hats this past year and learn so many new things, I feel that this place has a magic that not only the kids feel but the adults too. Not only in the museum with our interactive activities and playful exhibits but our traveling projects too. We somehow transform a school gym into a learning place that is disguised as a colorful play area with giant puzzle pieces, spinning chairs and rideable hovercrafts. The smiles and joys these experiences give people are immeasurable.

In between those smiles are a few logistics and, the real nitty gritty of it all. The hours of planning and organizing are what make those beautiful things happen. Our wonderful SpectrUM team make magic every day, they are the true wizards of this place.

As I embark on another transition into the unknown future, I hold back tears when thinking of leaving all the kids and people I’ve met in this mountain town. What SpectrUM and AmeriCorps has given me is more than all those smiles and good times, but a true sense of giving and what small gestures can do for a person. After this year I hope to keep with me my sense of wonder and curiosity, high regards for education for all and need to keep moving forward. On to the next transition, thank you AmeriCorps.