#TBT: Our Stories of Service

As we celebrate AmeriCorps Week and 30 years of AmeriCorps members getting things done, it’s the perfect time for a throwback Thursday featuring some of our staff reflecting on their time as AmeriCorps members. Thank you for your service, whenever it was, and thank you for your continued work towards uplifting national service!

Alison Jirik, Senior Grant Partnership Officer

AmeriCorps VISTA in Minnesota
2007-2008

During my service I had the opportunity to connect community members with tutor training and volunteer opportunities, facilitate a professional development network for volunteer managers, and tutor immigrants and refugees in literacy skills. It was a rewarding experience that allowed me to build the capacity of a great organization, serve and connect with my community, and develop skills that prepared me for a career in the nonprofit sector.

Amber Hughes, Program Manager

Reading Corps in Minnesota
2010-2013
Maple River was my childhood elementary school, and serving at this site had a deeper meaning for me! I thought of my Reading Corps service as an opportunity to help students succeed in their reading skills and also as a way to thank my former teachers who helped me grow as a student and Reading Corps tutor! Serving with Reading Corps instilled a lifelong passion for service and education. I'm eternally grateful for my experience with Reading Corps and serving at Maple River!

Danielle Maser, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Coordinator

Reading Corps in Minnesota
2012-2015
I deeply enjoyed helping kids build up their reading skills and discover a joy for reading. I also made lifelong friendships with my fellow site member and staff.

Eric Hoffman, Director of Wisconsin Programs

City Year in California
2004-2006

I supported a combination 3-4th grade classroom with differentiated support for reading and math as well as ran afterschool programming for kindergarten through 5th grade students. I also supported a high school service-learning program on the weekends. In my second year I was an AmeriCorps member Team Leader running the middle school and high school service-learning programs as well as the corporate social responsibility events for our corporate funders.

My AmeriCorps service reset the entire trajectory of my life. I was taking a gap year from college without being entirely sure what it is that I wanted to do next. I moved across the country and completely immersed myself in being of service to others. I met lifelong friends, engaged with incredible mentors, and led community changing projects. It is a time of my life I look back on fondly and with a grateful heart.

Jada Wellner, Program Manager

Early Learning Corps in Minnesota
2020-2023
My service with AmeriCorps changed my life, it completely changed the trajectory of my career. I made great connections and expanded my professional skills; but most importantly, I loved helping the students recognize their potential and seeing their improvement over time. I'm thankful to continue helping children establish a successful foundation and providing the confidence for them to excel in their education.

Jordan Oleszczak, Program Manager

Reading Corps in Minnesota
2016-2018

Halfway through student teaching, I realized that I didn't want to be a lead classroom teacher; tutoring with Reading Corps gave me a chance to support students academically while I figured out my next career steps. I used my Education Award to earn a Master of Arts degree in Education and a Certificate in Leadership Studies in 2021. AmeriCorps opened my eyes to national service and I joined Ampact as a staff member in fall 2018. Currently, I'm a Program Manager with Climate Impact Corps and I love supporting members and sites as they build community resilience in the face of climate change.

Jordyn Carey, Recruiter

Reading Corps in Minnesota
2018-2022
I loved seeing my students grow each year that I served, not only in their literacy skills, but also in their confidence in themselves and their ability to grow as a learner. Serving as a tutor was one of the most important and impactful experiences of my life, and I am grateful to be able to continue contributing to AmeriCorps' work now in the hiring of new tutors!

Kadiya Lodge, Director of New York Programs

AmeriCorps VISTA in New York
2011-2013

As an AmeriCorps VISTA, we focused on youth development and created a program called Shaping Empowered Teens. In the program, we connected with professionals to speak to and motivate 11th and 12th grade students at Poughkeepsie High School and provided college and career readiness support to them. We also organized a community cleanup, and I volunteered as a Book Buddy with Literacy Connections where I read to students at Clinton Elementary School in Poughkeepsie.

Serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA opened the door to employment opportunities in the nonprofit sector where I was able to support teens and young adults in continuing their education, finding employment, or identifying community resources that they needed. In addition to helping others, I will be forever grateful to AmeriCorps VISTA for bridging divides and for giving me a platform to help others.

Kalia Xiong, Program Specialist

Reading Corps in Minnesota
2014-2015

I really enjoyed how I was able to work with kindergarteners in small groups and pairs while also being able to do individual tutoring with first to third graders. Being able to see the kindergarteners twice a day really helped with building relationships and trust which I believed impacted the overall growth in their reading abilities. My favorite part was just seeing all the students grow and become better readers at their own pace.

Katelyn Dokken, Director of Minnesota Education Programs

City of Lakes AmeriCorps and Reading Corps in Minnesota
2009-2011, 2011-2012

My service in AmeriCorps was incredibly impactful and set me on a trajectory to dedicate myself to community service and education. I currently volunteer with Second Harvest Heartland and have recently joined the Human Rights Commission in my community. AmeriCorps is such a wonderful opportunity for individuals looking to give back!

Krista Dudgeon, Program Manager

Urban Servant Corps in Colorado and Reading Corps in Minnesota
2010-2011, 2011-2013

My first year with AmeriCorps was with Urban Servant Corps in Denver, Colorado where I served with Denver Urban Ministries as an urban immersion educator. Urban Servant Corps provides housing for the members, and we live together in community. The nine other young adult members and I are still like family after living a full year together and just had a reunion trip together this February!

2011-2013 I headed back to Minnesota and served two years with the MN Reading Corps program. Both years as a tutor gave me great experience in the school system and serving students in a favorite subject of mine.

Now, I get to use these influential experiences to inspire my work as a Program Manager on the Southern MN Ampact team with the Education programs. I supervise and support members serving in Math Corps, Early Learning Corps, and Reading Corps! I appreciate working with individuals who are committing to making an impact in their communities. I know firsthand the opportunity to learn about yourself in not only the content area, but as a member of the community and how we can continue our impact for years to come.

Lizzie Morris Vogt, Senior Director of National Program Administration

AmeriCorps VISTA in Colorado
2011-2012

I served at A Women's Place, a domestic violence shelter and organization supporting children and families experiencing intimate partner violence. During my service, I provided capacity-building services to support the volunteer management and community outreach functions of the organization. My service with AmeriCorps was life-changing! I had graduated from college without a clear path of what I wanted to do next. Service gave me the opportunity to build my professional skills, connect with career mentors, live in a new state, and meet people from all over the country with experiences and backgrounds much different than my own.

Megan McNabb, Senior Director of Grant Administration

College Possible in Minnesota
2007-2008

I served in College Possible in 2007-2008 and helped organize all the events the high school students participated in – ranging from practice ACT test days for high school juniors to college campus visits for high school seniors. My year of service helped me gain experience in the non-profit education field where I knew I wanted to work. I made some lifelong friends during my service who are now leaders across the country in various fields. The year changed me in countless ways, and I want AmeriCorps to be accessible to anyone.

Megan Peterson, Director of Minnesota Education Programs

Reading Corps in Minnesota
2012-2014

I had always been active volunteering in my community, but serving in Reading Corps and directly seeing the impact that working with a trusted adult using proven literacy strategies had on students led me to realize that working in education was meant to be my long-term career path. Now I've worked at Ampact for almost 10 years.

Hearing "I love you, and I love to read" from a student I worked with, and seeing everyone's excitement when I would pick students up from their classrooms for tutoring was the highlight of my service. I also loved when students would show me a new book they picked out from the library because they were finally excited about reading. On "favorite book character day" I had the opportunity to introduce students to my favorite book growing up, The Paper Bag Princess, which features a strong Princess who saves her Prince from a fire breathing dragon.

Melissa Haala Smith, Coaching Specialist

Early Learning Corps in Minnesota
2007-2009

The experience profoundly impacted my philosophy of early childhood education and how I taught preschool.

Molly Posey, Program Coach

Recovery Corps in Minnesota
2021-2022

I was about one and a half years into my recovery when I lost my job of 11 months due to failing my background check. What I learned in that moment was I wanted to help others facing the same barriers and challenges as I was in my recovery. After a short google search of “jobs in recovery,” I ran across a familiar face from my former life back home wearing a purple Recovery Corps shirt on the Minnesota Recovery Connection website. I reached out to her, and she shared with me this program that changed her life. It was a program that would open the door professionally in the recovery field with people who would not judge me for my background.

Serving as a member of Recovery Corps gave me the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally while using my lived experience with active addiction and my recovery to support others like me. After successfully completing my service term, my Program Coach forwarded me a job opening to join the Recovery Corps team as an employee. I was scared and unsure but trusted the person who supported me during my service term. She saw something in me I had not yet seen in myself. Today, I have been with Recovery Corps as a Program Coach for one and a half years and see what she saw in me!

Riley Lindberg, Compliance Partner

Reading Corps in Minnesota
2011-2013
My time serving with AmeriCorps was deeply rewarding. It gave me the opportunity to serve my community in a way that was important to me while also helping me learn more about myself. It's because of my experience with AmeriCorps that I decided to pursue non-profit work, and I'm grateful that I can still be involved with AmeriCorps through my work at Ampact. It feels good to help other people have meaningful service experiences, just like I had!

Tracy Jackson, Program Specialist

Summer Impact Corps
2023

It was very rewarding to build relationships with kids who were transitioning from kindergarten to first grade. It was also great to engage with the teachers and to assist them in their summer programming efforts. Although the time I was there was short, June-August, I could see growth in children’s learning, confidence in themselves, and the impact we were making on their social, emotional, and mental health needs. It was a great opportunity, and I was asked if I could return the next summer. Ultimately, I decided I would see if I could be of use at the company that gave me the opportunity to serve in the first place, which is when I found an opportunity to be employed at Ampact and applied. I enjoy the work I do at Ampact but more importantly appreciate the work Ampact does.