NCCC Atlantic Region Class 17 Corps Member Reflection – Mic Collins, Ramsey, NJ. Family, Friends, Hello and welcome to the graduation of AmeriCorps NCCC Class 17. I want to start by asking you all to take a few moments to look around and examine the faces of today's graduates. Go ahead, really look at them, look at their expressions and try to sense their emotions. What is it that you see? Obviously, there is happiness. Friendships have been made and unique experiences have bonded us in ways few people can understand. Unfortunately, because of this, there is also sadness. We have made it to that inevitable moment where daily routines and relationships are bound to change. Maybe there is a hint of excitement as well. Excitement for people to go out in the world and show all they have learned. No doubt there are some anxious faces; for soon we will be able to start anew, making our own decisions of what we want to do and when we want to do it. And if you look closely, you will also see a bit of fear. We all have it. Fear of what comes next, fear of the unknown. Whatever it is that you see, I am willing to bet it looks different from the familiar faces you said good-bye to ten months ago. And this is a point I want to stress to you all, because unless you have sat where we sit today, you will have a very hard time relating to what we just went through. So, I want you to take this as fair warning: if your son or daughter, in the coming weeks, begins to demand that you tell them where their next spike will be, do not be alarmed, the routine of moving from place to place every month or so is not an easy one to break. If your brother or sister constantly updates you on every possible natural disaster headed for the east coast, do not suspect them of being a crazy lover of destruction, realize it is only because of their incredible willingness to help those in need. If the friend you have not seen for ten months is constantly attempting to force you to combine grocery money, do not fret, they have only learned how little you really need and how much more you can have when you share. If your roommate no longer wants to spend
money on cable and internet, do not be upset, they have only become wise to the fact that one can easily live without television and that internet is free at any local Starbucks. I say these things because I want you all to be ready for the fact that, whether you like it or not, we have all changed. For some the change is welcomed, for others unexpected, and for most an ongoing process. The last ten months have been a whirlwind of experience, and to not come out any different than the way we started would be nearly impossible. So, you may ask, what is it that we have all learned? What is it that makes us all so different from ten months ago? I'm reminded here of something a good friend said to me early on in this program. While discussing plans for life after AmeriCorps, I mentioned that I would be going home for a bit. With a plain but confident stare she looked at me and said, “Mic, you don't just get to go home from this.” I took a moment to try and decipher what it was she meant by such a bizarre statement. With a laugh I brushed the comment off as if I understood, but it would take the next ten months to truly grasp the insight of her words that day. We arrived at Perry Point in February facing a month of training and a sea of new faces. Things happened fast. We made friends. We went new places. We were taught new things. We discovered that stray cats, bald eagles, flocks and flocks of geese, endless amounts of deer, and pudgy little groundhogs could coexist in one magical place at the top of the Chesapeake Bay. But perhaps most importantly, we were told that we were now part of a legacy. A legacy that started long before us and will continue after us. We were told that to put on this uniform every day; to wear the “A” was an honor, an honor we should respect and be proud of. At first, there were many who doubted this sentiment, but more so there were many of us who could not understand it. I was one of these people. That was until I was sent on disaster to work with the Red Cross due to the massive flooding along the Mississippi River. In the first meeting I
attended with my team at Headquarters, the head of the red cross operation expressed how excited she was to have an NCCC team on site. She had worked with NCCC before and knew the attitude we would be bring to the job. An attitude of getting things done no matter how small or large, no matter how difficult, and no matter how long. Her praise resulted in a roaring round of applause from the rest of the volunteers in the room. I remember feeling silly because I felt a had not done anything yet. But then it hit me. By pledging ten months of my life to this program, and yes, by merely putting on this uniform, I had become a part of something much bigger than I had realized. The feeling was humbling. It was some months later, while at a completely separate project, that I thought again of the words spoken about us at the Red Cross. My team was working hard to fulfill a task assigned to us when our sponsor had to actually ask us to please stop working so that he could finally head home for the day (he wanted to beat the traffic). Without realizing it, we had developed the attitude the the woman from the red cross had attributed to us long before we knew what it meant. Before me or any of my teammates were aware of it, she had known about the “A� and the people who accept the challenge of putting it on everyday. I said before that this experience was humbling because it reminded of that very important lesson that each of us could use a refresher on every now and then. The lesson being: that I am not the center of the of the universe. It is an extremely difficult and ironic fact to face, but the truth is that in order to make your community and your country become a better place you cannot always be so concerned about what you yourself are doing. The beauty of this program is that when I was having a bad day, allowing my petty frustrations to create the illusion that the job my team had been assigned was meaningless, there was no doubt a team somewhere else, whether it be Moose, Buffalo, or Raven, working overtime as hard as they possibly could in
order to improve the lives of those around them. There are jobs that need to get done, and yes, it may seem like almost anyone holds the ability to do them. Yet, what we as corps members have come to learn, is that it takes a special talent to have the motivation and dedication to actually buckle down and get them done. Right now there people, most of them young people, occupying cities and states all over the country in an attempt to combat the greed and corruption we have seen all too much of in recent times. Many view these rallies as a sign of hope for our future. That it may be, but I think it is of the utmost importance to recognize that we sit here now, in a room where nearly 200 individuals, whether they were aware of it or not, protested against that greed and corruption not by merely taking to the streets, but by choosing to create positive change. We made our voices heard by proving how much we could improve and accomplish for the daily lives of people in this country with only our bare hands, our will power, and our hard work; and showing how little we needed to do so. On top of that, it is through this hard work and dedication that we have developed the invaluable ability to remove ourselves from our day to day emotions and frustrations, our hardships and our joys, our headaches and our achievements, and view our work as part of something bigger than ourselves. We did it with respect for each other and those we were helping. Respect led to trust. Trust allowed us to rely not only ourselves but on each other, and when we were able to rely on each other amazing things were possible. It has become very clear to us that it is never just one person who saves the day and is able to make a difference; but rather we are certain that one person can lead to one team, one team can lead to one unit, one unit to one region, and one region to one whole country which truly cares about people and is willing to sacrifice for them over and over. We don't just get to go home. The words of my friend ring loud and clear in my head
every day now. We have changed and home, wherever that my be, has inevitably changed with us. What we must figure out now is what exactly we want that change to be. Like most NCCC members here, I read a lot. But, reading about the future of our world and our role in it can be a daunting task. The predictions tend to be grim. The problems we face range from rising temperatures to a shrinking economy, overpopulation to the running out of resources, rising sea levels to falling test scores. These problems are real and frightening. But recently I realized something. Look around the room again at those scarred, anxious, and excited faces. They are the faces of a generation that is presented the opportunity to stand up and fix what is wrong. It is in a room like this, surrounded by these people, who aren't afraid to do what it takes to get the task done, that I feel hope for the future. So, my fellow corps members, where is it that we go from here? We follow our passions. We have taken the first step, often the hardest to take, but there is still work to be done. I challenge you to use what you have learned and apply it, from here on out, to each and every pursuit you choose to take on. We need you to, our future depends on it. Thank you and good luck.