AmeriCorps NCCC

It's really here. Tomorrow I graduate. Tomorrow I get to fly back to Traverse City and I can't express how excited I am.
Ok-so quick recap since I wrote on Sunday but then more of my excitement for traveling home. So "graduation week" as they're calling it was SUPER LAME! It was the last couple of days and it just went so slow. We had about two required things each day plus a room inspection and of course the two required meetings were at opposite parts of the day...an early morning meeting and one awkwardly placed in the late afternoon. Monday was an outprocessing meeting that lasted no more than 10 minutes and then it was a long day of waiting. We had our last lunch date with Caitlin at Mega Wraps and then turned in all of our NCCC belongings that will be re-used in years to come. Tuesday we had our final Unit Meeting with Vaughn and a last hooray with the entire Sun Unit and that lasted an hour, so then more waiting as usual. There was some cleaning and packing, but I had been packed for days, so I was just lounging around. Quick trip to the post office, Subway and Urgent Care (stupid bee sting) and then a money meeting to get our travel finances. Tuesday night I met up with SJ one last time here in Denver and we had a great time. We ate at an Italian restaurant,Maxx and Isabella, in the Belmar area and just ate and chatted for hours. I absolutely love her company and cannot wait to see her again, on her WEDDING DAY!! Today has been another slow day, but the anticipation to go home wins today. We started with Graduation rehearsal and then our last Community Meeting that was good for quite a few laughs. We had another room inspection, not that many things are changing and then just a lot of waiting. We had a nice dinner for our pre-graduation reception and who knows what else the night will hold.

Tomorrow at 8am I will graduate from AmeriCorps NCCC. The thoughts rushing through my head, the emotions, the goodbyes to some extraordinary people (especially Leeann, Paulie, Caitlin and Lynch) and just everthing, it's incredibly overwhelming but I am ready. This has been a phenomenal experience, challenging, exhausting, rewarding and everything in between, but it was a once in a lifetime experience and I am so glad that I did it. I have grown so much and changed, and just learned so much about myself and the world around me, its been incredible. I will carry this experience and the friendships with me for life, AmeriCorps will always hold a very dear place in my heart.

On the other hand though, I am SO excited to go home. I am so ready to start the next chapter in my life and very empowered to continue my education at the University of Michigan this fall. This experience only reiterated my desire to work in the helping profession and has me more excited than ever to be in Social Work. I am also elated to see my family and friends again. 7 months for most of them is a very long time and definitely the longest I have ever been away and not had the option of going back. I told my mom the other day I would sign a contract never to go 7 months without seeing her again in my life The reunion will be amazing and then it's a month of visiting people, having fun, and getting ready for the next step in my life, graduate school in Ann Arbor.

Here's to the final night, here's to saying goodbye to a life-changing experience and here's to jumping on an airplane to head back to Traverse City in less than 26 hours!!

Love you all and I'll be sure to post when I am home safely and surrounded by those I love dearly.

Smiles and love for the last time in Colorado, Cholie

OK, I'll do my best to update on everything that's happened in the last month, well the things worth mentioning anyway. I last wrote when the kids were still here and we were in the heart of Summer of Service, but they've definitely left since then, so I have some updating to do for sure.

The week after my last entry we had local service projects around the Denver area all week with various activities planned for the evenings. It was great to be back in the dorms and to have all the Lightning teams back together. On Monday Lightning 2 was at Cherry Creek State Park removing invasive thistle in the blazing sun and although it was hard to keep the kids motivated, they did a great job and we finished in just a half day. The other half of the day was spent planning our Big ISP project for the following week. Tuesday we went to the Red Cross for some filing, Wednesday the team was at the Denver Rescue Mission while I was enjoying a day off with Katie Lynch and a few others at the pool Thursday we headed out for our last environmental project in Boulder, working with Kristin from Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks and Friday we finished up at the Broadway Assistance Center in the morning and the Habitat Home Restore Outlet for the afternoon. That week at night we had a college talk, a movie night, rollerskating and Thursday night was CL choice, so we had some of the teams watch a movie with popcorn and ice cream. That Friday night we had the talent show and then Saturday was a day at the pool and then in the evening we went to Skyline Park and watched a movie outdoors. ET was showing and it was such a great atmosphere and so fun to be out downtown with the kids watching such a classic movie under the stars. I was off that Sunday but the team headed to the Wildlife Museum and then had team time and structured free time.

Monday of their last week we had the all anticipated Big ISP project in which our team did a project with one of the local Boys and Girls Clubs. We were there for the entire morning and were interacting with the kids there in a variety of different activities. We were in the rec room, the gym, the arts and crafts room, upstairs in the reading room and we even got to supervise a movie watching; 13 Going on 30, it was great! One of my favorite movies and I was doing service as the same time. Afterwards we came back for lunch, did PT and then got together to plan our debrief for the following day. Monday night was an awesome gang talk, with Prodigal Sun, and then after structured free time we had our last official nightly team meeting at the fountain in Englewood, a team favorite. Tuesday was all about the paperwork and last minute things before graduation. We had our formal debrief in the morning which went over really well and then it was off to get everything else done. Patti and Ariel went off to finish some errands and I was left with the kids. We did baselines first and then after showering we headed to the offices to finish evaluations for AmeriCorps. For lunch we surprised our kids with a pizza party (they were not big fans of the cafeteria food) and then they were doing paper work all afternoon and we gave them our little gifts we had made for them. Room inspections for the kids and then dinner and afterwards we headed to Lakeside Amusement Park to celebrate the end of SOS. The kids had a great deal of freedom there and so did we, it was a great way to celebrate. Once we met up to head back, straight to their rooms on campus and their last night in the dorms. Wednesday was an early morning as usual. Final room inspections, key collecting, all the last minute running around and then before we knew it we were lined up for graduation in the Little Auditorium-they had made it. The graduation ceremony was very nice and although Sammi and Rachel had to leave before they received their certificates, the rest of the team finished strong, got their paychecks and were saying their final goodbyes. After 3.5 of the hardest most challenging and exhausting weeks of my life, the greatest reward was seeing the 6 amazing kids of Lightning 2 walk across the stage and graduate from the Summer of Service Program.

After lunch that day we were off the hook. We went and celebrated in a variety of ways, but I hung out with just a couple of the girls, had a nice little picnic in the park with a few drinks and celebrated the most rewarding part of our AmeriCorps experience. Thursday of that week we had to work half day, cleaning up after Summer of Service and getting our parts assigned for the formal debrief. Katie and I headed to Mega Wraps with Caitlin and then later that evening we took her to the airport. Friday, Katie and I went to the Coors Factory for the free tour and then after our wonderful free beers at the end we walked around in Golden, CO a bit and got ice cream before heading back. That night I was still just so tired and so far behind on sleep that I found that my bed was my best friend that weekend. The 4th and 5th were fairly uneventful for me but I did a few things and even started packing

That next week we were back to work. Monday morning we went over the SOS debrief and then we were off, so I headed to the pool with a few peeps and then that night Katie, Caitlin and I went to see My Sister's Keeper and went out to dinner. Tuesday we had our formal debrief in front of all the staff and important NCCC people and then that afternoon we were going to start our service project for the week. As exhausted and run down as we may have been, each team had one last project to complete as a team, just a short 3.5 day project. Our team was a lucky one and didn't get an environmental project or one that was outdoors as we were painting at the Senior Support Services Agency. I didn't actually go to work Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday because I had webinars with the University of Michigan for both my field instruction and for class registration. Tuesday night I did go to a Rockies game though, and afterwards we headed to SING SING, a dueling piano bar and I sang along all night long. Thursday and Friday I headed to work though, and we were so efficient that we finished by lunch on Friday. Alan took the team out for ice cream in the afternoon and then myself, as well as three other friends made cow costumes (masks, spots, utters and signs for our back, while wearing black and white of course) and headed to Chick-Fil-A for a free meal. It was so much fun and we laughed the afternoon and evening away. That Saturday was the long anticipated arrival of the rest of the Corps, which for me was mainly Leeann and Paul. Earlier that day I headed out with Caitlin and Katie to do a little shopping and then that afternoon I was finally reunited and it was GREAT!! We had team dinner and then I just got to hang out with them again, so overdue. Leeann and I watched a movie that night and just hung out and talked, so glad to have her back in my everyday life. Sunday was another big day, as Paul, Leeann and I headed out around 11, got some Subway for lunch and then the anticipated trip to That Scary Place. I fulfilled a deal I made with Leeann back in October and after our full day excursion, the three of us had our Brewery Nachos at Rock Bottom for the last time and then back to campus for an early night.

Transition week officially began that following Monday and although not too much was going on everyday, we managed to make it to the weekend pretty fast and are about to enter graduation week. We had our last debrief, returned to our old/original teams, community meeting, unit meeting, flight info, other meetings and then of course a trip to the bowling alley, one last rendezvous a SING SING downtown, hanging out with Leeann and movie nights with Paulie. Friday the unit was off campus and spent our day at Mount Evans, a 14,260 ft mountain and we summitted it, it was incredible. It has the longest paved road in North America, so we drove the vans as far as we could, with goats crossing and everything and then once we parked we hiked up to the top and it was breath-taking, absolutely amazing!! Lots of pics and great times for sure. Lunch on the mountain and then headed back. Friday night I was extremely exhausted and needless to say it was a pretty quiet night. Saturday we had our last ever Service Project in AmeriCorps. We were helping out at Barr Lake State Park and although we were helping them out, they weren't exactly prepared for all of us and didn't have enough work for all of us and the time allotted to do the project. We finished early, got t-shirts and lunch provided and then headed back to campus for a much needed nap. Saturday after I napped, I cleaned and packed almost everything up, then dinner and eventually went to get ice cream with Paul and watched a movie.

Today was pretty low key. I slept in, which was amazing and something I hadn't done in awhile, then brunch and after some lounging Paul, Leeann and I headed to Englewood for a bit, then back here for dinner and more hangin' out. Tomorrow is the official start of graduation week, so we have a few meetings this week, as well as other planned activites, then graduation rehearsal on Wednesday and then Thursday will finally be here. I will get up at the crack of dawn (not my choice at all), graduate, and then on a place HOME!!!

4 days and I just cannot wait. I'll be back in Michigan this week!!!!!

Smiles and love, Nichole

I know it has been another two weeks and in all honestly, I have barely had a chance to breathe in the last two weeks, so consider this entry a definite bonus, haha. So two weeks ago I wrote and that day the kids in the Summer of Service program were arriving and their 3.5 week program was to begin. Well they definetly made it here and we've been on the go ever since. Basically I work with two other Corps Members and then three of us act as the Crew Leaders for our specific team of participants-Lightning 2!! The participants are mainly at risk youth ranging in age from 14-17 and most of which are inner city Denver youth, though there are some exceptions. The three of us crew leaders work together to lead our group in a variety of trainings, activities and service projects in the Colorado area. It would be nearly impossible to replay the past 2 weeks in full detail, but i'll surely share what's been important and what we've been up to.
We started wioth 7 participants and have been with 6 for just over a week now. We currently have 3 boy and 3 girls, ranging from 15-17 years old. The first week they had three days of training, which they thought were the longest things ever, and then Thursday they participated in their first service project with the Cherry Creek Public Park. They liked the aspect of working, but had a tough time grasping their good deed and the community they were helping. Friday we headed out to Genese Park for a day full of team building and ropes course activities that the team really seemed to enjoy. They not only bonded but learned to trust each other more and that was huge. There were different weekend activities planned, including the Denver Zoo (which I personally loved) and then Monday we headed out for a week long camping experience. I wasn't exactly pumped about camping again, but I had to hide that fact from the kids and ended up doing much better this time around. The kids on our team thought I was a pro and loved it...man I put on a great front. Our group, as well as three other lightning groups headed to 11 Mile State Park just past the Colorado Springs area and set up camp for 4 nights, leaving on the 5th day. My group went to work at the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in Florissant, CO and did a lot of rock and trail work, building water bars, colverts, rolling dips and a great deal of trail maintenance. On the last day of work we were treated with a very nice BBQ from our sponsors and headed back to our campsite for the last night. Friday we were up and packing and on the way back to campus we headed to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs and eventually made our way back to campus. After going out to dinner with the crew we had the Survivor Color Wars that night and we had such a blast. We were the Gold Team and participated in a variety of events against other teams to determine who would be voted off the island. It was a long and crazy week, but we still had to get through the weekend. Saturday we were working with the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge, doing some invasive specie removal (mullen, thistle and russian olive) and that evening we attended a Colorado Rapids Game-Major League Soccer. We had a blast, got back pretty late and had only one more day left in the weekend. Today I actually had off, my second day in two weeks, so I wasn't with the crew, but they had a pretty laid back day. I believe they were headed to a park downtown for a good portion of the day and then enjoyed some sight seeing and small adventures like that.
Next week we will do a variety of service projects right here in Denver and the kids are really excited about that, and about the idea of direct service, and seeing the people that we help directly in some of our projects. I am also very excited about that, and excited to serve a variety of places locally, a new project each day this week. The nights each have different activities as well, and the weekend is packed with fun too. They have only a couple of days the following week and will graduate on July 1st. I know it's a day they are looking forward to, but I am definitely just as excited for that day as well.
So the past two weeks have been insane and we work at least 15-17 hours a day, nearly 7 days a week (unless you're lucky and your day off falls that week) so we're running around constantly and being challenged each and every day, but it's also extremely rewarding and it's our hope that we're also making an impact with these kids. I didn't do too much today on my day off since I wasn't really feeling 100% but it was nice to just be removed from it all for awhile and sleep a little. It's getting closer to home time and I am getting so excited it's not even funny. Just over a month and I am back in the mitten with many of my faves!!

I'll write again when I can, miss you and hope all of you are enjoying your summer thus far.

Smiles and love, Nichole

Well, I am writing again which is a good indication that I survived that 2 week camping experience up at Cal-Wood. It was a close one let me tell you, but I pulled through and made it back alive and in one piece for the most part, haha just kidding. I know it sounds slightly ridiculous that I am making such a big deal out of this camping experience but to be honest, it was a pretty big deal to me. I had never gone camping for that long and I'm no high maintenance girl, but I had never camped quite like that, facing all the elements for two weeks with 13 other people. Don't get me wrong either, there were great parts too, but too many of the challenging ones for me to make it a little more difficult, but I made it. So we were camping in tents, had our own outhouse and I believe it rained probably like 75% of the time, puddles in the tent for sure. The work was great, but very physically straining and demanding and we were exhausted each and every day. We were fed like kings and queens in the dining hall Mon-Thurs and it was absolutely delicious. That was one of the things we were looked forward to, haha, Cook Dee and her amazing meals. The things that got me other than just the mental aspect of it all was definitely the snake I saw while working and the ticks I found in my hair. I don't know if they had already gotten in my head or were just in my hair, but that sent me overboard for sure. I had one minor break down, and then picked myself back up, thank goodness for moms. We also had no cell phone reception up on the mountain and it took about 30-35 minutes to get down the mountain to civilization. We were also at about 7800ft at the camp and while working, so that in itself took a lot out of you and definitely played with my stomach for a few days. The staff though was incredible and the idea behind the education center too, so awesome. We did a variety of projects including invasive specie removal, wood splitting with a hydraulic splitter, forest mitigation, hauling slash, creating slash piles, hauling logs, spreading mulch, road repair and anything else that seemed fitting while we were there. It was definitely an incredible view and aside from everything else it was a learning and growing experience for me for sure. I made it back to civilization, showered, cleaned all my clothes and layed in a bed, and was pretty proud of myself.

That weekend we got back was ours to do whatever and then this past week we were back in training, this time for the Summer of Service Program. We had a variety of trainings from 8a-5p each day and had such information overload. Friday after all the trainings were complete we got the rooms ready and then had one last weekend of freedom before mayhem begins Today starts the Summer of Service Program. Basically, it's a mini AmeriCorps experience for at risk 14-17 year olds for 3.5 weeks. We as Corps members are now Crew Leaders and work in trios to lead our own team of 8 participants for the next 3.5 weeks. They arrive today and will graduate July 1st. From now until then will be absolutely crazy! We will be working 100 hour weeks, we will be taking them camping, doing service with them, PT, service learning, teambuilding, games, anything and everything from the time we get up for breakfast until they have lights out at like 10-1030pm. In the next 3.5 weeks I have 3 days off, and yet I signed up for this craziness and am pretty excited. It'll be an incredible opportunity I know that, but it doesn't mean it doesn't come with some nervous jitters and anxiety. I am sure my next update will tell a little bit more about my team and the experience, but I've really taken the reins for this opportunity. Just the idea of inspiring others to serve has me so excited, I can't wait. We'll see how I feel after they graduate, but even then, I'm that much closer to home

In other news, I was able to see SJ this week and had dinner with her which was great and had a ton of fun downtown Denver on Saturday. There was the People's Fair with a variety of vendors, tents and entertainment, the art museum downtown was free and then we checked out this incredible sidewalk chalk festival in Larimer Square that was astonishing. We ended the night at Jackson's for a few drinks and the last time we'll be going out until July 1st.

Here's to the SOS program and surviving, missing my friends and family and being back home in TC in 45 days!!

Love and smiles, Nichole

My grandma leaves for a trip this coming Tuesday, so I had to make sure this was written before that It was also a little past due, so no time like the present to update on my life in AmeriCorps. Looking back, I left off at the last week in April, so since then I have left Greensboro, come back to Denver and packed again for the 4th project, but let's slow down a bit, and back up.
So back in Greensboro, we had one full week left and half of the next. All of our remaining time was spent out at the Rosenwald School, but the work changed a bit as we continued to push through until the end. The last week and a half of work in Alabama was dedicated to the roof. It was everything from shimming the roof (which I absolutely hate) to ripping off old tin, replacing pearlings and rafters and putting new tin on the roof. I was scared at first and stayed on the scaffolding but in what seemed like no time at all, I was up on the roof working with everyone else, facing more fears each day. The weather was starting to really take a toll. It was so hot and being up on the roof with tin made the working conditions that much harder. That week we also checked out the Safe House Museum in Greensboro. It is now a historic Black History Museum, but years ago it was a home that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. hid out in to prevent run-ins with the KKK. It was an incredible experience to be there and to hear the creator of the museum talk, a woman who was there during those times and whose mother owned the home at the time that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was staying there. The week of working at the school and with roof was both rewarding and extremely frustrating. Patrick, our Site Supervisor, was never my personal favorite, and apparently he noticed, I guess I didn't hide it that well. The most frustrating part was the unrealistic goals he made at the beginning of each day and when we didn't reach them (like we told them we wouldn't) it definitely brought down the team a bit. The weather continued to change from super sunny and hot, to muggy, to humid, to raining and overcast, to tornado warnings and more-you never knew what you were going to get until you got it, and then we'd wait five minutes or so for something else.
For our last weekend in Alabama I actually went to New Orleans with a few teammates for Jazz Fest. We left after work on Friday and stayed until Sunday afternoon. The trip was great, short, but well lived and the best part was that I got to see Leeann, which was definitely the highlight for me. Friday night we stayed with Sun 8 in Camp Hope and then Saturday morning we were off to Jazz Fest. It was crazy and awesome and I fried like a lobster and saw Bon Jovi and it was amazing. Afterwards we headed to the hotel downtown, had dinner with the group and then headed Uptown for a bit and then back downtown to Bourbon Street. My first New Orleans experience was a crazy one for sure, and I made sure to get my first hand grenade, and loved it! The night ended quite early the next morning, back to the hotel and then once we get everything in order on Sunday we were headed back to Alabama, to finish out our last couple of days in Greensboro.
Our short work week was still super stressful and frustrating, but we made it through alive and accomplished so much. We attacked the roof each of the last three days we worked but on our last half day we had the craziest weather ever, pouring every couple of minutes and ended up leaving the school with 3 of the 4 sides re-tined, but the 4th side had already had some work done on it, so it was promising. The Tuesday before we left we headed to Tuscaloosa for our team dinner at Mug Shots and had such a great time, a very reflective round for me and I absolutely loved that about this project. Our last day of work was a half day and then we spent lunch with the HERO office staff, reflecting on the round and saying our goodbyes. We had our last meal at a church dinner and then it was packing, house cleaning and getting everything else ready to go. That week I also had a conversation with my parents and decided on a school for next year. I will be attending the University of Michigan this fall for my Master's of Social Work and I'm really excited about it. I am ready to re-enter the real world and get on with my life, but I need to finish this program strong first before I can do that.
So that brings us to the travel back to Denver, CO. We left that Thursday after Sun 3 arrived with the cargo van and drove until we got to Little Rock, AK. Day 2 we made it to Salina, KS and then the third day we made it back to Denver. Mother's Day was another tough one to be away from home for, but I think I just miss them all so much so that made it a bit harder. Monday began our Transition Week and one of the busiest and longest weeks I've had in AmeriCorps, well at least for a transition week. The week contained a variety of meetings, unpacking, checking equiptment back in, debriefing our project and then the new stuff started as well, meeting up with the new team, talking about our next project, packing and checking out more equiptment. This week was also AmeriCorps Week and with NCCC celebrating their 15th year, it was an even bigger deal it seemed. Friday we were at the steps of the Capital Building for the Governor's Service Awards and Saturday we participated in a huge Service Project with Alums and Groundwork Denver called the Denver Climate Challenge, working on energy efficiency in neighborhoods through a variety of different ways. As far as non-AmeriCorps stuff, I became addicted to the show "Friday Night Lights," I went to a Rockies Game and sat in the Rockpile, walked around downtown and saw the movie "Obsessed" (so good), had training with the FCC for tv converting, celebrated Katie Lynch's bday early and spent lots of quality time with Leeann, it was great!! I am so extremely tired, exhausted, worn out, but that's ok, because tomorrow morning our 4th round begins and that means we're in the home stretch.
So what's next you ask? Well, here's what I know. I am staying in Denver this round with the Summer of Service Program, but because that doesn't actually start until June, we're going on a mini project for the next two weeks first. My project is at Cal-Wood Education Center in Jamestown, CO and I will be doing environmental work. The catch here, I am CAMPING!!! You can probably imagine all the things going through my head, but I will be camping in a tent, sleeping on the ground in the cold for the next two weeks. If I survive this experience it will be a serious character builder and accomplishment for me, so we'll have to see what happens. I will say goodbye to the rest of the corps and when they come back in July, we're that much closer to graduation and home. When I get back from this mini project the summer will get much crazier, but I'll leave that update for next time.

I hope this catches everyone up a bit and I will be sure to write again after my camping adventure, if I survive of course.

Love and smiles from Colorado and here's to the next 9.5 weeks/67 days until this girl gets off a plane in TC

Love always, Nichole