NCCC Team Leader Spotlight- Ethan Gehl
Team Leader Alumnus Spotlight: Ethan Gehl Ethan Gehl, served as a Corps Member on Wolf 4 in Class XV and was the Team Leader of Wolf 4 in Class XVI. How did you find out about AmeriCorps NCCC? I first heard about NCCC through a mailing I received in high school. Gehl as a Team Leader in Class XVI It caught my eye, and I thought "Perfect. That's how I'll pay for college!" Of course I got caught up in my life and that thought got lost in the shuffle as I worked to make the grades so I could make the money. My senior year in college, I woke up one morning to a feeling of discontent. I didn't realize it then, but that was my quarter life crisis. I realized that I wasn't stoked about the rat race I was running. Before I knew it, I was looking into the Peace Corps and other service opportunities. When I stumbled across NCCC again, it was the right opportunity at the right time, so I jumped on it. What was the best part of your year? Well I enjoyed my first year so much that I came back a second. As a member, I realized that it's the leader who really makes or breaks an experience for a team. I wanted to lead a team and do my part to give them the experience of a lifetime. The best part of my NCCC experience was my entire year as a Team Leader. I had the best team a person could have. And I still miss them everyday. What are your current plans? Currently I'm a Field Team Leader with the Northwest Service Academy based in Washington state. Next summer I'm hoping to be a Team Leader with Bike & Build. Maybe one day far, far in the future I'll come back to my roots and become a Unit Leader with NCCC. Hey, you have to dream big!
Ethan Gehl
Do you have any advice for potential Team Leaders or Corps Members? Reflection points? Hmm...good question. I think the key to having a rewarding service experience is to open yourself up to that experience, to give everything that you have everyday, to take initiative and do the jobs no one else wants to do, to lead by your example, to accept others and appreciate their redeeming qualities.