Trinity Alumna's AmeriCorps Experience Unique, Meaningful

While many of her classmates from the class of 2005 are busy at work in office jobs, scaling the corporate ladder and building their resumes, Maggie Downing has spent the year since she's graduated a bit differently, scaling actual ladders and building houses for hurricane victims, through her work with AmeriCorps*NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps). AmeriCorps is a network of four local, state, and national service programs - NCCC, National, State, and VISTA - that work to meet the country's important needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment. Its members serve with non-profits, public agencies, and faith-based and community organizations. NCCC in particular aims to strengthen communities and develop leaders through direct, team-based national and community service.The NCCC program is a full-time, residential program for men and women aged 18-24, so Downing's co-workers "range from high school grads to college grads, with a mix of everything in between," as she put it. Downing was attracted to the program because of its description as a "domestic Peace Corps," and the opportunities it offered for travel and service projects. "During my senior year at Trinity, I made the decision to spend a year doing something different before I pursued graduate school," Downing said. "I knew I had the rest of my life to make money, pay rent, pay bills, and all the other things that awaited me in the 'real world,' so I wanted to put it off as long as possible."

Members of NCCC are assigned to one of four campuses in different regions of the country and travel to the states in that region to serve. Downing is stationed in Charleston, S.C. When she first joined NCCC in September 2005, she and her nine teammates spent a month getting to know each other and receiving training that included Red Cross Disaster Relief and First Aid and CPR Certifications, as well as instruction on media, recruitment, and service-learning.

Downing was appointed to NCCC just as the Gulf Coast was being ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, and thus her team's first deployment was to New Orleans to work with the American Red Cross. "Nothing can compare to the initial shock of seeing a city so ravaged by nature," Downing said of her first experiences. Her NCCC team was put to work serving meals to city residents and the many volunteers and workers on hand to begin the long, slow clean-up process, which she describes as "both satisfying and heart-wrenching."

"Following our time in New Orleans, my team was sent to central Tennessee to work with two state parks, helping the severely understaffed parks to make their trails safer and their camping facilities more inviting," she said. "Our third project brought the team back to our base in Charleston to work as mentors and tutors to the students of North Charleston Elementary School, where we quickly learned that explaining long division can be just as exhausting as clearing trails. After two months in the school, we then drove south to Georgia to lead college students in construction with Habitat for Humanity. My final project of my first term of service brought me back to the Gulf Coast to rebuild homes in Biloxi."

The meaningful work her group was doing resonated deeply with Downing, and she elected to stay on for a second year with NCCC. "Just weeks into the program I knew I had found something special," she said, "and I wanted to stick with it as long as I could, so I made the decision early on to apply for a second term of service, this time in the role of Team Leader." After the completion of her first term, she received a month's worth of training in fields ranging from supervisory skills tocrisis management, "none of which could adequately prepare me for being responsible for ten of my peers," she quipped. This August, she and her team again began their 10-month term on the Gulf Coast, first working with the Harrison County, Miss. Long Term Recovery Committee for two months, interviewing country residents and assessing their post-disaster needs. They then traveled to Lafayette, La. to work with the United Way of Acadiana and rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Rita. Currently, she is serving in Gulfport, Miss. with the Westminster Presbyterian Church, coordinating the many volunteers who come down for weekly stints of house-building. She and her NCCC group serve as crew leaders for the houses in various stages of construction.

When asked what a typical day with NCCC entailed, Downing answered that, "there is no such thing as a typical day in NCCC. My favorite thing about this program is how varied it is. Each project brings a new location, a new community to work in, and new experiences." This variation has brought enormous reward to the work Downing and her fellow corps members have undertaken. She described: "During both my year as a corps member and my year as a team leader, I have felt extremely lucky to have been a part of the recovery effort on the Gulf Coast. This year, as the leader of a team of ten dedicated, caring, inspirational people, being part of their process of growing, learning, and serving is one of the most rewarding experiences I could have. What I also find rewarding is how committed and integrated we become in the communities we serve in such short periods of time; it reflects the strong impact such a small group of people can have."

Downing plans to attend graduate school in the fall to begin work towards a Master's in Museum Studies - her Trinity degree is in Anthropology - and feels as though the leadership and communications skills she has gained with NCCC will benefit her greatly. Additionally, the $4,725 education grant that all NCCC participants receive after their 10 months of service will also be of great aid to Downing as she pursues her graduate degree. Downing said: "I know many students at Trinity are focused on immediately entering a career, or continuing their education post-graduation . but for those who don't know what they want to do with their lives, it's an amazing way to spend a year." The program also provides other financial incentives to would-be participants, including complete room and board and a small living stipend.