Spring Trainings Prepare Members for "Life after AmeriCorps"

With the 2011-2012 school year wrapping up on our member campuses many members are also wrapping up their Campus Corps terms and have begun to focus on transitioning to whatever next steps are in store for them.  In hopes of providing some guidance to them during this process, our campus affiliates are hosting "Life after AmeriCorps" trainings to provide members with opportunities to further develop their skills in a variety of areas including resume composition, interviewing techniques, continuing one’s involvement in community service, and how to go about using the Education Award. A number of these gatherings are collaborative efforts between two or more campuses and will offer members an opportunity to gain a sense of closure as their Campus Corps experience comes to an end.

Some campuses have already hosted their training events and leaders have been pleased to share that so far, members have overwhemlingly found them to be valuable and informative training experiences.  MSU-Billings' close of service allowed their service team members a chance to get away from the hustle and bustle of campus for a night and head out to scenic town of Red Lodge, MT. There they participated in a number of reflection activities to process their experiences over the past year and heard from MSUB coordinator, Meg O'Neil, who facilitated skills-specific trainings intended to equip members with knowledge needed to successfully transition out of their Campus Corps experience.

This past weekend, Campus Corps members from UM-W traveled to Bozeman to participate in a collaborative training with MSU that also included 2 service projects in the area. The training utilized the expertise of two guest trainers from local Bozeman organizations with Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer, Executive Director of Hopa Mountain,  presenting on the subject of appreciative inquiry and Shannon Stober of Montana Conservation Corps, who facilitated a reflection with the group.  In addition, Campus Corps program staff provided trainings that covered topics including how to use the Education Award, resume composition, interviewing skills, and ways to maintain a high level of civic engagement well into one's future career. Campus Corps leader Alex Black coordinated the two service projects that were built into the training experience: on Saturday members participated in one of her 7 Service Saturday events and on Sunday they spent the morning at Community Cafe, the newest site of the Gallatin Valley Food Bank which will soon be serving hot meals daily to local community members in need. Campus Corps student volunteers helped out at the site by doing some grounds work at the site as well as an overall cleaning of the space in preparation for its upcoming grand opening.

Shannon Stober facilitating a reflection for the group.