Michigan’s AmeriCorps Member Council – Posting #28

Bridget Ferrigan here again, representing Michigan Campus Compact’s AmeriCorps*VISTAs. This will be my third and last post as part of the Michigan’s AmeriCorps Member Council. For most of us in the program, our year of service concludes at the end of July, which has prompted many of us to ask ourselves “What next?”

Some of us are continuing our service; I will be moving to North Carolina to serve with their Campus Compact for a second year as a VISTA. Some are continuing their education, going for Masters Degrees in public policy, business, and higher educational administration. Whatever our future choices for after our VISTA and AmeriCorps service, we all will remain committed to getting things done for America and transforming our communities however we can.

After AmeriCorps, I will still do service in my community. I am already signed up on the AmeriCorps Alums website, and will try to stay active in my new community as much as possible, whether it’s helping at the local humane society, doing a Habitat for Humanity build, or participating in MLK Day of Service. While I will be moving around in the next few years, I will try and make some kind of impact wherever I go.

I also plan on being an advocate for national service, among other things. As a VISTA, one of the things we are not allowed to do is influence legislation. This has been especially hard for me, coming from a political science background with many friends interested in politics and policy. It’s so cliché to keep saying that this is a time of change, but I truly feel it is. I look forward, after my second year of AmeriCorps, to raising my voice for the issues I believe in and asking my legislators to fulfill their promise of representing me to the nation. However, many of you reading this blog can already do that. Stand up for what you believe in—don’t hesitate to try and change what is in place because of the possibility of failure or because it is comfortable.

I also look forward to seeing what great things the people I have met over the last year will go on to do. I have faith the students I have met here at Olivet College will keep serving their community and continue to make a difference in the lives of people all over the country. I know they will step up and take charge when things need to be done. One of the seniors who went on our alternative winter break trip to New Orleans to continue Hurricane Katrina relief work has moved down there and has become a site leader for the United Church of Christ’s Hurricane Disaster Relief ministry. Two freshman who came up with service activities for MLK Day of Service in January have become very involved in the college community: they are members of the Black Student Union and the local chapter of the NAACP, one is active with the women’s group on campus, and the other is on the executive board of Student Government. I am also excited to see what amazing things my fellow VISTAs and Member Council representatives, as well as the college friends I have involved in AmeriCorps (shout out to City Year Detroit and the Michigan Campaign to End Homelessness!) will do following their service.

As we carry our commitment from this year to beyond, let us not forget our pledge to get things done for America, however we are best able to do that.