One of our newest AmeriCorps members hails from Decatur, Georgia – a suburb of Atlanta. Ian spent a few years attending Berry College there in Georgia but decided to take some time off to volunteer and figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his life. He was drawn to the idea of AmeriCorps because he knew he wanted to help, and he liked the idea of being able to help in a lot of different ways.
Ian started off his time in AmeriCorps working with the Seattle Parks and Rec Youth Program and spent last spring and summer teaching classes about social justice issues, and leading groups of students on trail construction projects. He then spent some time maintaining trails as part of a larger team before we were lucky enough to bring him on here at Habitat.
Ian tells me he is getting into the swing of things down at the site – and is glad he has had such a good pool of mentors to draw on like Dave and Allen. Bit by bit, Ian realized he was getting better at measuring and doing things right the first time – he’s gotten confident enough to now be instructing groups of volunteers at our Lake City Way site.
“At first, I was nervous about working with volunteers. But these are the kind of people who come out to keep people’s heads above water. It’s amazing to see folks take one of their only weekend days, and dedicate that time to helping people they haven’t even met. It’s great working with people who have that kind of giving mentality.”