Alternative Spring Break has become such a huge part of my life. When I got to Framingham State College, I was surprised to see no ASB program in sight and so my supervisor and I decided to play with my workplan a little bit to include ASB. I know it's something that many students want the opportunity to do and so I thought it would be pretty awesome to work with the students to make that happen here. I should tell you that I, as an undergrad student, never in my life planned an ASB or even went on one. That makes the whole process that much more exciting! Yes, it's been challenging to get the hang of all the details and whatnot, but I think (and hope) we are going to be pretty successful. I have selected two trip leaders and as such, the trip will be largely student run, which is a concept that I really value a lot. I place a lot of emphasis on leadership development in college students and am really excited to be able to help a couple of my own students to gain a pretty decent leadership experience in our ASB.
We also decided to keep the trip local, which I was nervous to tell the students, but I think it's going to be awesome. We are going to be in Boston doing service projects for the week of Spring Break which is helpful to us in our first year planning an ASB as it will take a lot of the big pressures off of us while we learn how to do this (transportation, etc). What I like the most about staying in Boston, though, is that my students are going to get a chance to make a real impact on their own community and will also be able to go back to their work site and see the difference they made, and volunteer with the organization again.
I have to admit that all this ASB business makes me kind of nervous, but I am excited to get this going and leave the program behind me when I leave FSC.
Also, lately I have been reflecting a lot on my decision to become a MACC AmeriCorps*VISTA and how satisfied I am with my choice. I know I have already talked about this before, but I feel the need to visit it again. Last night some of us MACC *VISTAs went to a VISTA social at BostonCares and met some other really awesome VISTAs from Massachusetts. That is, VISTAs who are not a part of Campus Compact. We played some fun, cheesy ice breakers (oh, how I love them) and got to hang out and talk to some really interesting people. I have to admit going into it I felt a tad awkward and was a little nervous to socialize, as I often get shy with new people (which is something most people who know me would tell you is probably a lie) but it was really fun. What I appreciated most was being able to visit the VISTAs from my own Corps that I hardly get to see. It's nice to have an excuse to get myself into Boston on a more regular basis, as I have come to find myself getting pretty attached to my friends in the Corps. Anyway, the point is, on very long T ride home last night, I thought so much about my career plans and the friendships I've gained because of MACC and would not change a thing in the world about my decision to serve this year!
Stay tuned, I'm having my first big volunteering day next weekend!
Much *VISTA Love,
Dana
