What's Your AmeriStory?

What’s Your AmeriStory?

Kyoko Henson, Family Care Connection, 1994
My AmeriCorps experience really broadened my life and enabled me to see the possibilities beyond what was in front of me at that time. I had 4 children under 6 years old, and was struggling as a single mother. I needed some sort of turning point for my life. I had a BA in visual communication art and worked as a textile designer in NYC, but somehow life took an interesting toll and put me in very difficult situations. 
My supervisor ( Janet ) was extremely supportive in many ways. It was not only to finish hours and gain experiences and educational awards, etc…but more in the area of personal development and encouragement. Through AmeriCorps, I gained a valuable support network and gained personal self-worth and strength back, and was able to go back to school to obtain an MSW.
Recently, my youngest son, who was 6 months old when I joined AmeriCorps in 1994, served as a member through Keys AmeriCorps.
I continue to appreciate the network and close feeling of connection with all AmeriCorps members. It still provides me with a great sense of belonging.

Henson was honored for her work by President Clinton during a trip to the White House.  Read the full article here:
http://old.post-gazette.com/headlines/19991020volunteer5.asp 

Hayden Barns, Squirrel Hill Food Pantry, 2015
I served at the Squirrel Hill Community Food Pantry last year and I'm currently getting an MPH at Pitt. I'm also working part time at Pitt Med and the Jewish Association on Aging. I'll be interning at Children's
Hospital this summer and I plan on going to nursing school after I get my MPH.

I found my service year to be an incredibly rewarding experience. I developed leadership skills, learned about nutrition and food insecurity through direct service, and was able to work with a team of dedicated volunteers and staff-members at the Squirrel Hill Community Food Pantry. I had such a positive experience in Health Corps I decided to stay in Pittsburgh to get a Masters in Public Health at Pitt and continue serving with the AmeriCorps program, recruiting for the 2016-2017 service year. I'm still actively involved at my site and I volunteer there regularly.
I think the most valuable takeaways I have from this experience are the relationships I built with fellow members, my mentors and volunteers at the pantry, and clients. Some of my closest friends I met though this program and the professional network I've been able to develop here has already helped connect me to internships, jobs, and other opportunities.

Accepting a position with the Pittsburgh Health Corps may be the best decision I've ever made and I'm proud to be an alum of the program!

Trevor Cutlip, Global Links, 2015
It's easy to complain.  It's easy to find problems.  AmeriCorps taught me how to generate change and fix problems, rather than simply point out the problem.

Jake Miller, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, 2015
Serving in AmeriCorps was the best decision I have ever made. It gave me an enormous base of understanding person-first patient care, and allowed me to help those who didn't think they could be heard. Being in medical school, I know for a fact my time in AmeriCorps has given me a huge advantage when working with patients- I'm able to understand barriers that a person faces that present as psychological, inadequate community-access, lack of resources, and low health literacy. Because of my service, I'm able to see that medical care isn't successful without addressing some key barriers that restrict a person's ability to care for themselves and prevent further disease.

Kelsey Murray, 2012
Kelsey is a medical student at Ohio State and was recently named the Regional Coordinator of the American Academy of Family Physicians Family Medicine Interest Group Network.