Personal Narrative: Americorps

One day at my job as a US Air Force test pilot in the year 2023, on Area 51, I stumbled upon a lower level of the underground bunkers used to store top secret materials and projects I discovered a cylinder of high strength glass. The room was well lit, but it seemed empty and abandoned. As I approached the strange object, it became apparent that there was a door that opened and swung to the left, with a high strength steel latch on it. Once I was close enough, I realized that this machine may have been a prototype of the much sought after time travel machine that was depicted in so many movies and TV shows. The sparkling glass, the gleaming aluminum base and cap, suddenly seemed very appealing, interesting, and enticing to me. I stepped inside.

I was in the Marine Corps serving under Third battalion Eleventh marines Mike Battery in Twenty-Nine Palms California from 2009-2013. What our unit did was put rounds down range, oorah. We were an artillery battery, think modern day cannons. As far as twenty-nine palms all you have to imagine is sand in a five hundred square foot mile area. My job as Ammo chief was to insure the safe handling and transportation of hundred pound high explosive bombs. On one partially long training exercise I was instructed to take my marines and four ‘7-ton’ trucks and go to the rear to load up with more ammo. No problem, I’ve done this before but on this occasion when I was going to return the battery would have moved positions. So they gave me the grid number

The simple reason for why I would like to serve with Americorp is because I like helping people. The more complicated reason is that I want to do something meaningful with my gap year. I could easily find a job and work for a year or intern at a company but Americorp offers me the opportunity to do something different. Americorps allows me to work with programs that have wide spread impacts and do a great deal of good. With Americorp I can do service above and beyond anything I have done so far. I have of course, been afforded many opportunities to serve in my community and interact with many individuals from diverse backgrounds over the course of my academic and professional career. Recently, I was able to spend three months interning at

With every organization comes a degree of change. The Marine Corps is no different. With a rapidly changing world, we must strive to sustain the transformation and remain true to our ethos. Across the Marine Corps the culture of each unit is different, with sustaining the transformation as our tool we can make each unit better for new generations of Marines. Marine Raider Training Center sustains the transformation by holding quarterly promotion panels to ensure deserving promotions; however it fails to sustain the transformation by not welcoming new Marines to the unit appropriately, I will build a Welcome Aboard package to sustain the transformation for my Marines.

I’m a military child. Change was instilled in me since my birth in Spain. My childhood was spent briefly in Europe, the east coast of the U.S, and eventually the Midwest. This change of scenery, schools, friends, and just about everything else in my life led me to be the person I am today. Travelling was amusing and I enjoyed change of pace every couple of years, but it wasn’t easy. I learned early on that getting attached to people wasn’t a good idea and should be avoided in preparation for the next move. This led me to being an incredibly shy child who couldn’t open up to people. The world I come from is an adventurous but problematic one. When I concluded making friends would assist with each transition I found myself too terrified to attempt

Serving AmeriCorps will allow me to pass the torch of knowledge to empower all that I encounter. My passion is to inspire others to improve their quality of life through higher learning. Specifically, my target audience is low-socioeconomic class citizens within the community. Education has empowered myself and daughters out of unfavorable circumstances. Therefore, I believe all change first begins with the gift of knowledge. Ultimately, I aspire to help others find their way to self-actualization. I hope to encourage others to reach their life goals and dreams. So, I believe AmeriCorps will be an excellent opportunity to use my skills to change lives. Post AmeriCorps I plan to continue to help within the community and abroad to teach others

Growing up as the son of a career Naval Officer, I have experienced a background that varies greatly from that of an applicant who has grown up in a strictly civilian family. The constant relocation, the exciting places I have lived, and the countless great, unique people I have met, have all contributed that that he unique childhood I have enjoyed. While at times my identity as a military child has made life challenging and difficult, I strongly believe that it has made me a stronger, more adaptable person because I have been molded by past experiences and I don't think that my application would be complete without this information.

As I was and still am in the process of applying for other AmeriCorps programs, I have had the chance to speak to two different Teach for America staff members who through their informational meetings showed me the importance of the work I would be doing with Teach for America. As a kid, I grew up in poverty with my mom and four other siblings’ living paycheck to paycheck off government assistance. This experience was my motivation to change my future and the statistics I faced as a Black male who grew up in poverty, and also showed me why giving back to the community was the right thing to do! All my life, I have received help from different people, groups, or organizations from neighbors, to my big brother from the Big Brother Big Sister

My military service reshaped who I am. My training stripped away any sense of entitlement and I learned more about myself in four months than I’d ever known before. It not only gave me discipline and taught me to perform under pressure, but everything I did wasn’t just for me anymore. I was working hard for the marines next to me in my platoon. The time came when each of us hit a breaking point physically or mentally.

March 2006, I made the best decision in my life, and that was to join the U.S. Navy. I left for the boot camp two months later. I have no idea what is going to be in stores for me when I hit boot camp. What I can tell was that my hands felt clammy and I was very nervous and anxious at the same time. I knew the moment that I arrive to Great Lakes, Illinois, and my life would change forever. I knew physically that I would change but how about mentally?

AmeriCorps is a good program to be in. It trains you on how to help people with different health and mental issues. The program is based upon a non-profit organization. They can participate in many charitable events to raise fund for the less fortunate. Therefore it’s a good program to have on your side as you can see the program is worldwide and it is bigger and they are standing strong. They are in the process of developing an alumni group to allow former participate to maintain active.. As a true volunteer, this is an opportunity to volunteer as an UAB AmeriCorps alumni in an organized fashion. An alumni needs to be open minded, flexible, able to participate in at least one annual project, as well as others if they so

I went pre-med before getting deployed and as an intern I've seen a lot of horrible things. But when it's your friend... Someone you serve with... It stays with you forever.

If there was anything more terrifying to a shy, introverted, teenage girl than the idea of being a in crowded room full of strangers, it would to be actually in one. Yet, there I was, surrounded by a numerous amount of impatient, jet-black cars that illuminated the dark streets, rows of musicians rehearsing their piece by playing a dissonance of sounds, and the expectant, motley crowd of people lining up on the sidewalk for the veteran’s parade.

Frumkin, P., et al. (2009). Inside National Service: AmeriCorps’ Impact on Participants. Retrieved January 29, 2014 from RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service:

One of the hardest academic challenges I had faced was during my Peace Corps services as a TEFL instructor at Sichuan Tourism University. After working with the students for over a year, I had realized there was a huge gap in their understanding of human reproduction. In China, especially rural China, there is an extremely sensitive and embarrassing subject for parents, friends, and teachers to educate others on. I was growing concern about how little my students understood this topic, as I had gone with three of my students during my time of services to abortion clinics (which are located everywhere as they are very common thing in China). I had decided that many of students would benefit from a few classes on sexual intercourse that would