Decision

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.