From a VIP Fellow: a welcome to the new year of service

Alex (second from right) with fellow VIP AmeriCorps members Sabina Ahuja and
Cody Cibart (left), and supervisor Lauren Serpa (far right).

By Alex Rowan, Local VIP Leader at CalSERVES in Rohnert Park, CA

Becoming a VIP has been an exciting, albeit hectic, journey.  A month ago, I was home in Colorado, packing up my car, ready to move to Philadelphia to begin graduate school.  The prospect of grad school excited me, and I couldn’t wait to immerse myself in a new city.  However, tucked away somewhere in the recesses of my mind, a thought began to emerge which told me that spending the next year in classes accruing a huge amount of debt would ultimately leave me unfulfilled.  It told me that what I needed was to work in a community, and have opportunities to grow through service that grad school just couldn’t provide.

So I applied to AmeriCorps to see if there was something out there for me.  I didn’t think I would actually give up my ideal education no matter what opportunity presented itself.  I felt more like I was tangentially indulging in a never-to-be-pursued dream of committing a year to service that would quickly be passed by.  That is until I found myself sitting in the dining room fiddling with my webcam so that I could interview with Lauren Serpa via Skype.

Dressed in my nicest polo and my most comfortable pajama pants, I logged into Skype and began the interview.  Lauren told me about CalSERVES.  She asked the standard questions about my strengths and weaknesses, all the while offering an overview of what I might be doing as a VIP.  The opportunity seemed interesting, but what really struck me was that even though we were 1,300 miles away, I could feel Lauren’s enthusiasm for the program radiating from the screen in front of me.  I was sold.

I accepted the position, finished packing my car, and headed west!  After a few days driving, I made it to my new home, Santa Rosa, CA.  I should clarify that I mean home in the broadest sense.  I didn’t know anyone in Santa Rosa, I wasn’t exactly sure what I had gotten myself into, and I didn’t have a place to live, save for the couch of a few generous AmeriCorps alums.  The next day was our first training, and so began my year as a VIP Fellow.

Throughout the following week, I received calls from friends, and even my sister, on the east coast who didn’t get the memo that I had moved to California.  They were still intent on visiting me in Philly before school started.  When I told them the news, they were understandably shocked to discover I had seemingly made a wrong turn back in Colorado and ended up on the wrong coast.  I let them know that plans had changed, and that I followed that tangential dream and made it my new reality.

Although I’m still crashing on a couch, with a very modest income, recently on food stamps, and living a life that is the exact opposite of everything I anticipated my life being at UPenn, I couldn’t be more excited about working as a CalSERVES VIP Fellow for the coming year.  The staff have provided unwavering support, my fellow VIPs are amazing individuals who I am excited to work with, and everyone has the same enthusiasm and excitement for service that Lauren showed when I first spoke with her.

And so I welcome my fellow VIPs at all of our partner organizations.  With continuing support and a passion for service, I know this will be an amazing year of growth for all of us, and for the communities that we are here to serve.