In late 2018 to early 2019, I was approaching my high school graduation without a shred of an idea about what to do next. I was always told to just “go to college” and figure it out from there. However, I wasn’t keen on going back to school and taking on debt yet. I talked to my guidance counselor about this and she mentioned something called Americorps in passing. I had never heard of this “Americorps,” but it sounded interesting. I spent the next few weeks trying to research what Americorps actually was, and I was able to gather some basic information.
Americorps is a 10-12 month long, government run program for 18 to 26-year-olds to travel the U.S. and perform work for various communities. It is extremely easy to become a member. You basically just have to be a U.S. citizen and not be a felon. There are two different parts of Americorps to choose from. There’s the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Traditional. Traditional is for people who want to do more manual labor type work—clearing trails, building houses, etc. FEMA is for people who are interested in emergency management. It’s more administrative-type work that usually pertains to natural disasters. Once accepted into the program, you are put on a team of around five to 10 people with one team leader, and they fly you out to one of the four campuses in Sacramento, Calif., Vinton, Iowa, Aurora, Colo., and Vicksburg, Miss. for a one to two month training period. You and your team are then sent on your way to literally anywhere in the US or US territories. If it’s in the continental U.S., you do a road trip in a 15 passenger van. If it’s Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, etc., then you obviously have to fly there. This is all paid for by the government as well. This means plane tickets, housing, food, etc. was all paid for, in addition to the stipend of about $170 every two weeks. This may sound like a small amount, but you won’t have any bills besides buying your own toiletries or paying your phone bill. In addition to all this, you receive an education award of a little over $6,000 at the end of the program.
This did not sound real to me. I wasn’t reassured of its legitimacy when I found the website to sign up (https://my.americorps.gov/mp/recruit/registration.do). It is extremely difficult to navigate the “portal,” and it looks like the site was designed in the ’90s and never updated. However, I can assure you, this is legitimate. Months after applying, I was emailed a plane ticket to Sacramento, Calif. to meet my team and begin the most absurd experience of my life. Even as I was on the plane to Sacramento, I wasn’t sure exactly what I was getting myself into. I was going in completely blind.
I arrived at the Sacramento campus and was given a key to my room in the barracks of an old Air Force base. I met my roommates and my team, and they all turned out to be great people. I’m still friends with most of them to this day. However, this isn’t always the case. I heard some horror stories from other people on campus about bad teammates and roommates. So, you’re really taking a risk in that regard. If you absolutely cannot handle your team, you can request a transfer or just quit. If you quit, Americorps will pay for your ticket home, but you obviously won’t receive the education award.
After we completed training, my team was sent to our first project. The program is split into three rounds under normal circumstances. This means you will go to three, usually different locations throughout the year. My first assignment was in Santa Fe, N.M. This assignment was pretty mundane and mostly consisted of office work, but it was still enjoyable. Our next assignment was even more fun because we got to work in the World Trade Center and live in New York City rent-free. However, this round was split into two projects. This was due to the earthquakes that occurred in southern Puerto Rico during January 2020. So, my team was sent from New York City directly to Puerto Rico at a moment’s notice. My team, along with a couple of other teams, was staying at a hotel in Ponce, which is the second-largest city in Puerto Rico. This was an active earthquake zone and the hotel was basically falling apart. Whenever it rained, the ceilings in the common areas would leak like a literal shower all over the carpet because of the damage. Despite this, I enjoyed experiencing an often glossed-over part of the US. My team’s work here was a little more hands-on. We talked to survivors and signed them up for federal assistance. Our third round was in Washington D.C. at FEMA headquarters. Unfortunately, this round was cut extremely short, and we were sent home early due to COVID-19.
I would recommend Americorps to literally anybody that is about to graduate high school or college and isn’t sure what to do next. It’ll build your resume, give you real-life experience, and broaden your perspective because you will see so many different parts of the US. There are so many more details about the program that I can’t fit in this piece. So, if you’re interested in joining but want to know more, or if you simply cannot figure out how to sign-up, feel free to email me at [email protected].