Tuesday morning I had a meeting with the heads of
construction, new construction and host site coordinator. They had scheduled
the meeting with me the week before to talk about my service next year. I
assumed that we would set goals for the year and talk about specifics on what I
should focus on learning and how I could be a leader amongst the Americorps.
Knowing that I had the goal of reapplying to be a Construction Fellow next year
I assumed they would help me plan my next year with that goal in mind. I was
struck speechless when instead I was offered a Construction Fellowship starting
in August. After looking at the new construction goals for the next year and the
increase in the number of families served they decided to hire three Fellows
instead of two.
My initial gut reaction was to decline the offer. After
accepting another Americorps term of service I’ve become really excited for all
the positives about that experience. I was looking forward to the camaraderie
of belonging to a group, going to Talledega for the Leadership Conference,
going to Build-a-Thon in the Spring and having another year to become
proficient at construction skills. I don’t think I smiled at all during the
morning meeting as all these thoughts were racing around my head. After talking
with my mom, current supervisors, and making a pro/con list with Caroline and
Sean I had a lot of perspective on the decision before me. Spending another
year as an Americorps would mean an additional year of experience and learning
new construction. Becoming a Fellow would mean more responsibility and taking
that position now would show a lot of growth.
My deliberations led to these final thoughts: I know that I
love my job and the work that I am doing. I want to be able to do this and be
happy for as long as I can. My thought process leads me to believe that having
the experience of being a fellow would be best for my career path. If after the
fellowship I can’t find a job as a site supervisor I still have an Americorps
term of service that I can use to continue gaining experience. And it meant a
lot of me that the heads of construction see a lot of potential in me and want
to invest in me by offering me this opportunity. Ultimately I recognize that
this position will be very challenging for me and I can’t wait to rise to the
occasion and prove that they made the right decision.
