Induction Remarks by Kate Raftery, NCCC Director Date: Friday, March 9, 2012 Location: Perry Point, MD Event: Class 18 Induction Ceremony
Good morning to all of you. It is an honor to be with you all this morning. It is the first NCCC induction I have attended since I became Director of NCCC ten months ago. I want to welcome warmly all of the parents and family members, sponsors, alumni, NCCC and Corporation for National and Community Service staff and supporters. Before I came, being that this is my first induction I wanted to make sure I even understood what I was walking into so I started with the dictionary and the verb to induct which took me to terms like
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1. to install in an office, position, etc., especially with formal ceremonies: 2. to introduce, especially to something requiring special knowledge or experience; 3. to take (a draftee) into military service; 4. to bring in as a member.
Well I guess I can get it from that angle‌you are being brought into the National Civilian Community Corps as a member. You are being introduced to something which has required the gaining of special knowledge and experience. So the dictionary assisted me to beginning understanding this event‌ I then began to ask colleagues who had served as NCCC members recently, some years ago, many years ago about the meaning of inductions and the definition became far more real and personal. 2
People said things like… Induction felt like a rocket launching. There was this relief that training was over but anxiety about what was ahead. I felt an excitement about getting out to begin serving and being in the community. Sad that I would not be seeing some folks on such a regular basis…and maybe thinking they were going to be someone people WAY too much! I was proud of myself…for surviving training…and for being in this program. So quickly the mere definition from the dictionary began to merge with the human piece, human experience. It made me think of the great scholar Dr. Seuss when he said… 3
Today you are You…that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You. The NCCC is a powerful experience for many reasons because it gives each member the opportunity to see far clearer who You are… The team model is an amazing test of patience, perseverance and more…but also an amazing laboratory for seeing what a team, a diverse team in so many ways, can do when there is a commitment to make it work. The breadth of experiences that you will have will test the technical skills you have gained…but perhaps far more they will test your human skills. You will explore your commitment to and ability to connect with humanity. Anyone who spends ten months as a NCCC member and leaves believing that they have not changed…I would have to question their honesty, capacity for self-awareness. 4
You will find those things which fill you with passion and speak to your to inner self. Maybe you will find those things which inform and impact what you might want to study when you leave or even feel like first steps on your career path. The NCCC experience is also one which should make it very clear to each of you that we each have an obligation to serve others. Each of us is proud of the rights that we have as a citizen in our country, but we do not always talk as much about what our obligations are not only as a citizen but as a human being. The service you do over the next ten months is the beginning. At graduation you will be challenged to view yourself as a Life Long Server. The service will look different for each of you…through sports, through your church, with youth, with seniors. The “what” will not really matter…it is the “IF” which will. Growing as a person and a professional 5
Serving people and communities in as many ways as possible. Representing NCCC as proudly as possible. And in relation to representing the A….remember that to be totally honest with you….you will always be representing the A…on spike, on campus, during the week, over the week-end. Communities will know who you are….10 people in uniforms in a big van cannot exactly sneak into town…..they will look to see how you behave, what you have come to do and how well you do the work you have come to accomplish. Be proud of who you are an what you do Be proud of your team - who they are and what they do Be proud to be a member of NCCC…because we are very proud of you. 6
Being an NCCC member is not an observer sport. I challenge you to experience NCCC to the very very fullest. Do not have one regret when I see you on graduation day…and I better see everyone of you on graduation day right back here. So before I administer the AmeriCorps Pledge I will finish with another quote from Dr. Seuss. Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So ..get on your way.
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