Last week, we were afforded a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity. We were invited to attend a
meeting at the White House! When
Executive Director of AmeriCorps Alums, Ben Duda, sent an email a couple weeks
ago offering a chance to RSVP to attend an all-day summit at the heart of
national government, we were skeptical.
As incredible as it sounded, it sounded too unreal to be true. I did not anticipate being chosen.
Much to our surprise, a couple weeks later, we were sent
official word that we were, in fact, invited to the White House. The excitement was palpable as we made plans
to embark, a week later, on this incredible journey.
When we dug deeper into research about this opportunity, we
learned that our meeting was part of a series hosted by the White House called
Champions of Change. The series honors
everyday Americans who are doing great things and making positive change in
their areas of expertise. Our event was
focused on alumni of AmeriCorps. Around
150 of us were invited as participants, while 12 were honored directly as
Champions.
Our morning started bright and early at 8:00am with a group
photo in front of the White House. My
friend and I even saw what we were pretty sure was Bo, the Obamas’ family dog,
run by across the yard!
From there, after receiving our badges from security, our group
was led in to an auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office. Only after this visit did I learn of the
Eisenhower building. Though the iconic
White House serves as the home for the Presidential family and houses many
important items of memorabilia, much of the work done by the administration
happens in another building on the White House grounds: the Dwight D.
Eisenhower Administrative Building. It
was here, at this hub of productivity, that we spent our day.
Once settled in the auditorium, we were greeted by Victoria
McCullough, a staff member with the Office of Public Engagement, who guided us
through our upcoming day. Ben Duda,
Executive Director of AmeriCorps Alums, also welcomed us to the event.
From there, the formal morning programming began. Jack Lew, White House Chief of Staff, graced
us with a brief welcome. Mr. Lew told us
how he had been involved in the initial talks about founding the Corporation,
and was proud to say that now, AmeriCorps is “at the point of political
recognition because AmeriCorps Alums are a bi-partisan, with both Democratic
and Republican supporters.” It was the
beginning of a great series of reassurances that the members of this
administration already believed in the value of AmeriCorps!
Next, Wendy Spencer, Executive Director of the Corporation
for National and Community Service, spoke.
Ms Spencer’s relatively recent entrance to her position meant that her
enthusiasm was glowing and contagious.
She spoke brightly of the work done by AmeriCorps members, and offered
some impressive statistics. Among
others, she noted:
-
AmeriCorps members have served over one billion
hours
-
There are now over 750,000 AmeriCorps alums
What exciting numbers!
After, Ms. Spencer proceeded to ask us in the audience for stories of
how our AmeriCorps service time had been influential. Many, many alums volunteered their experiences. From a teacher who influenced a dropout child
to go back to school, to a Kenyan man who applied his service knowledge back to
his home in Kenya, to an NCCC alum who rebuilt some of the few structures on
the Gulf to survive being pummeled by massive hurricanes, the stories we heard
were heartfelt and inspiring.
Jon Carson, White House Director of Public Engagement, who
is himself a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, was also involved in early work
with AmeriCorps. He spoke about how
“there’s a political debate right now about what role federal government should
have with service” given the current economic climate. In spite of this, he wanted to assure us that
the federal government of this administration was on the side of service, which
was an overarching theme for the day.
Mr. Carson was very interested in the perception of federal government
in service, and solicited advice from the larger audience about how the federal
government should be involved.
We also heard from Macon Phillips, Director of Digital
Strategy, who is himself an AmeriCorps Alum.
He proudly wore his old program shirt, which he told us his wife
wouldn’t let him wear anymore. Mr.
Phillips’s talk was lively and entertaining.
His most poignant thought, we felt, was his opinion that the role of
government, like the role of service, was to create capacity for others. Further, we could all relate when he noted
that AmeriCorps alums weren’t the kind of people who did their year of service,
then decided to go back to being a jerk again.
We are of the informed and active citizenry, and this is a vital asset
to our country.
These talks were just the beginning. Over lunch, we were invited to attend a
variety of breakout sessions, ranging from topics as diverse as education,
veterans affairs, and engaging young Americans.
The sessions were led by senior members of the various offices who were
most directly involved with the various topics.
Though I can only speak for the session I attended, the
breakout session was perhaps the best part of the day. Luke Tate, a policy maker at the White House,
led a discussion called “Economic Opportunity: Alleviating Poverty and
Community Development,” in which he asked the group what ideas we had for how
the federal government could work to enhance the capacity of organizations, and
how they could improve upon existing government programs.
In addition to being an enlightening, interesting, and
multi-sided conversation, what struck me the most was Mr. Tate’s sincere
engagement with us. After each person
spoke, Mr. Tate replied thoughtfully and honestly to their main points,
explaining programs that were already in place or were in planning stages that
were addressing their concerns, or taking notes about issues that were yet
unaddressed. Throughout the
conversation, it was evident that Mr. Tate was seeking out our advice, and that
he really appreciated our ideas and concerns.
I left feeling extremely well-supported by the White House
administration, and much more confident in our federal government’s good
intentions.
After lunch, we re-convened in the auditorium to hear more
about the Champions of Change. As
mentioned, this program highlights everyday Americans who are doing
extraordinary work in their fields. We
met the twelve recipients of the Champions of Change award through their time
answering questions on a panel. Many of
the questions came from a moderator, but they also solicited audience advice.
The Champions came from a wide range of backgrounds and
experiences, but each was an Alum of an AmeriCorps program. Many still work in the non-profit sector,
often as a direct outgrowth from their term of service. Others have found roles for themselves in the
corporate world in which they incorporated service to their companies. There was also an Olympic hopeful in the
sport of Skeleton.
While all were replete with great advice, some of our
favorite advice came from one of the ladies who worked in Corporate Social
Responsibility. When asked how to
translate our AmeriCorps service into meaningful job experience on a resume,
she offered three key pieces of advice:
1.
Spin translation: present your AmeriCorps
service in the kind of terminology that matches what the employer is looking
for.
2.
Find a mentor: learning how others have paved
the way in similar circumstances can be tremendously helpful in carving out
your own career path.
3.
Be quantitative: companies like to see
measurable results of success, so any numbers you can offer to show your
achievements are a good idea for a corporate resume.
They also reminded us that AmeriCorps is already taking the
unconventional path, in the grand scheme of things, so don’t be afraid to
continue taking the way of the unconventional.
If there isn’t a job out there for you, don’t be afraid to try to make
one.
After the panels, we also had a surprise speaker. No, it was not who you think. It was, however, an AmeriCorps Alum who is an
Olympic medalist. Tim Morehouse had only
landed in the United States after the London games two days prior, where he
competed with the men’s fencing team. He
joked that by referring to him as a “special guest” we had really been set up
for disappointment. However, his
inspiring talk about how his AmeriCorps service had influenced his Olympic
success was special. Mr. Morehouse challenged us all to go out and
recruit more AmeriCorps members. He
himself had already been talking up Teach for America, his alma mater of
service, to the White House intern who had been helping us throughout the day.
Though the entire day was inspiring and thought-provoking,
by the end, I think we were all a little tired, so the last speech came at
exactly the right time. Ben Duda,
Executive Director of AmeriCorps Alums, energized everyone with his enthusiasm
and calls to action. He also shared his
progress in his work to increase AmeriCorps reputability with an exciting
announcement: for all Points of Light applications, there will be a specific
question asking applicants to list all of their volunteer experience, including
AmeriCorps experience. It’s an exciting
step in the right direction.
We all left our nation’s capital early the next morning
feeling re-energized in our commitment to service. It is not often we have the
chance to meet so many influential people in our field in such an incredible
setting, and we gained tremendous insight, inspiration, and confidence from the
whole experience. We hope to carry this
passion and energy beyond the walls of the White House, and to continue to live
out the AmeriCorps pledge to Get Things Done!
(from left) Bevin Callan, Caitlin Closser, Meggan Runner
