One Last Leader Gathering

Our team of 2011-2012 Campus Corps leaders had the chance to get together one last time before our terms of service come to an end and we move on to what's in store for us after this impactful year serving with the Montana Campus Compact. There was certainly something very bittersweet about our final gathering, but ultimately the retreat was a blast and certainly did our best to make the most of our final few days together as a team.


Our group enjoyed the accommodations of the Medicine Flower Lodge located in the scenic town of Red Lodge, MT right at the base of the Beartooth Mountain Range. The final retreat of the year provided the group with plenty of time to celebrate our many successes, to reflect upon the impact that this year has had on our lives, and to enjoy each others' company one last time. 

Grace, Hazel, Sean, & Alex soaking up some sunshine

Additionally, we gained some useful skills that will help us in our future endeavors, whatever they may be. Specifically, we received some guidance in resume building from guest facilitator, Jana Nelson of Billings Job Services who tailored the training session to our unique group and considered the individual career interests of each of our leaders. While we spent plenty of time looking ahead to our lives after AmeriCorps, we did not overlook the fact that we are not yet finished with the work that we have left to do for our communities during our final weeks as leaders. To support these efforts, we focused a few of our sessions on program sustainability and ensured that each leader was able to walk away with some concrete tasks to accomplish before it's time to leave. 


A Campus Corps sponsored event would of course not be complete with out some sort of service involved, and we were lucky enough to be able to support an MTCC VISTA projects taking place in the area. We spent an afternoon volunteering for the Red Lodge Food Partnership Council where we covered a hoop house in their youth community garden, removed rocks from the garden space, and did some weeding. Alyssa, our MTCC VISTA working on the project was especially grateful that the hoop house finally had a roof, as this addition will allow for a much longer growing season that can continue well into the fall months.  

Happily working on the hoop house!

Although we were all sad to say our final goodbyes, we were grateful for this experience, and grateful for the opportunity to gain a sense of closure to such a meaningful chapter of our lives. Here's to the 2011-2012 Campus Corps Leaders! You will be missed!