From Indiana to Maryland: The Start of my AmeriCorps Experience

Meet Cyndel Taylor, a soon-to-be AmeriCorps VISTA member with GHCC's Adult Literacy & ESOL program. As we prepare for the departure of our current AmeriCorps members and the arrival of 12 new volunteers in August, look for more VISTAs' stories on Greater Homewood Voices.

At the beginning of June, I moved from Indiana to Maryland to begin preparing to take over the Special Literacy Projects VISTA position with Greater Homewood Community Corporation. I came across AmeriCorps during my senior year of college when I decided I wanted to spend some time working in a service-oriented position. I’ve always wanted to spend at least a year doing some sort of service, and I figured that if I waited too long after college, I might never actually do it. AmeriCorps seemed like the perfect fit because they would place me at a non-profit, which is where I would like to be in my future career. Luckily, while I was looking through the various positions, I found that GHCC had an Adult Literacy and ESOL program. I was finishing up my senior internship at a non-profit that specialized in adult education and ESOL (which I happened to love doing), so I immediately applied for the position.

I find working with adults invigorating because they genuinely want to learn. They come to tutoring sessions because they want to make their lives a little better, and I cherish every opportunity I can get to help them achieve their goals. My position for the next year will allow me to take on more responsibility than I had in my internships, which will help me prepare for the next step in my life after AmeriCorps. Plus, I will also be able to strengthen my writing, organizational, communication, and planning skills.

August will definitely be an exciting month for me as I start training in Philadelphia and begin my year with GHCC. I have never been to Philadelphia before, which makes the training even more exciting. Plus, I will be able to get to know the city of Baltimore and meet all the people at GHCC after the training. The one thing I am worried about actually has nothing to do with starting my position—it has to do with finding housing in Baltimore. I would like to find an affordable apartment in a good neighborhood. Hopefully that is possible!

Overall, I am very much looking forward to the coming year!