Get to the Point Alumni spotlight
Gulf coast recovery inspires lasting service by Samantha Cass, Buffalo 2 Tiffany Zapico was a Corps Member on Red 4, Class XIII, and also a Team Leader for Blue 4, Class XIV at the Pacific Region. She currently lives in Montclair, New Jersey, right outside of New York City.
Tiffany first learned about AmeriCorps NCCC while working at a restaurant. A co-worker‟s girlfriend, who was an NCCC member at the time, told Tiffany about her experience. Tiffany looks back at this moment as, “Just your random good luck.” As a Corps Member, Tiffany took on the role of Service Learning Coordinator. Much of Tiffany‟s AmeriCorps life consisted of projects along the Gulf Coast. There, she assisted in disaster recovery from the devastating Hurricane Katrina and in doing so learned quite a lot. She gained insight on her own leadership skills as well as the power of the community and that of her team. Her most inspirational moment was from a day of service named "The Pascagoula Service Blitz."
Team Leader Tiffany Zapico with her Pacific Region team Blue 4. for Independent Service Project hours. A total of 67 Corps Members showed up for the Day of Service, which made me feel supported by the Corps. I really enjoyed helping people and learning that we could bring people together.” NCCC allowed her the opportunity to meet new people, make new friends whom she now considers as her family, and she also enjoyed the road trips.
ums to bring them together for days of service and job opportunities. Buffalo 2 greatly enjoyed speaking with her. For me personally, her story really captivated me, and I really enjoyed talking with her. For all of you who ever get to meet her, she‟s a lot of fun. Lastly, here are some words of advice to all AmeriCorps NCCC Members, courtesy of Tiffany: “You all should take a lot of pictures and videos. You should write about your experiences, because you‟ll really look back on them in a different light someday. Everyone should enjoy every day for what it is. Stay positive and always think possibilities are endless in AmeriCorps NCCC.”
“My first round project as a Corps Member, we were at Community Center for a Day of Service. We wanted to help some homeowners in a neighborhood, so we invited other NCCC teams
“I seem to have caught the nomad bug,” she said. She likes to travel from place to place. But most of all, she greatly enjoyed seeing the appreciation of the people for her help, which in turn lead her to learn to really appreciate people.
An AmeriCorps tent in the Gulf region where Corps members would gather.
AmeriCorps really helped shape her career in non-profit management. After graduating from NCCC, she took on a position as a special education teacher through Teach for America. Today, she works for Reading Partners in New York as a Program Manager while devoting her time to volunteering with AmeriCorps Alums, the AmeriCorps NCCC Advisory Board and she is the chair of the AmeriCorps NCCC Alumni Tiffany preps with proper PPE before Leadership Council. Her involvement gutting a house in St. Bernard Parish consists of connecting with other Al5