Monday, August 31, 2009

New VISTA Training: Day One

In June, we featured a story by Cyndel Taylor, an AmeriCorps*VISTA member traveling from Indiana to complete a year of service with GHCC's Adult Literacy & ESOL Program. Today marked the first day of training for GHCC's new VISTA team, and we caught up with Cyndel again to see how she felt about her arrival:

When I wrote for this blog a few months ago, I was only imagining what life as a VISTA at GHCC would bring as I moved from Indiana to begin a new life in Maryland. Now that I've been through four days of a pre-service orientation (PSO) and one day of on-the-job training, I'm beginning to get a grasp on what working here will be like.

It all began in Philadelphia last week when I met the other GHCC VISTAs. They were all nice, and we bonded over the PSO week of rigorous trainings and conversations about poverty and service. Though I was able to meet VISTAs from all over the country, I was most excited on the day we talked about our own job descriptions and projects. I started to realize even more how excited I was to work with adults in the literacy program.

Yesterday, the VISTAs met again to begin training for our actual jobs. The staff began with a welcome breakfast and it seems like everyone is very nice and will be available if we have any problems during the next few weeks. Nonetheless, I am still most excited about the job I will start after training is over. We took a tour through some of the neighborhoods that GHCC works with and it made me determined to start work that would benefit the people who live in those neighborhoods. I also found my office and received my business cards, which makes the whole process seem much more real to me. Soon, I will be doing my part as a Special Literacy Projects VISTA!

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