Valuable Skills Learned & Post Service Plans!!

Awesome photos from Anna & Kristen's site 
Enka Middle School in Asheville, NC!

Anna Gettles – Valuable Skills & Post Service Plans

In my year as a VISTA I have gained valuable experiences and skills that I will carry with me the rest of my life.  While reflecting on the ups and downs of my year, I identified some lessons that were thematic for me: 

• When engaging youth, it’s important to be yourself and be honest; they can smell fear.
• Panicking is never helpful, but a healthy amount of stress can work wonders.
• The ability to “think on your feet” is an incredible asset. Whenever possible, try to cultivate this ability and practice being flexible.
• Build strong relationships from a place of authenticity.
• Laugh often. There is humor in everything, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
• The impossible can be possible.

My post service plans mainly involve putting these lessons into action in all aspects in my life. Moving forward, I hope to find a job that will continue to motivate, inspire, and challenge me. I also plan to take some much-needed naps. 

Kristen Muscaro – Post Service Plans

I am incredibly grateful for the amount of experience and professional development I have acquired over the past year serving as a VISTA with Hands On Asheville-Buncombe at Enka Middle School.  There were definitely several challenges throughout the year, but I am happy to say that I feel as though I did a good job building our program up for the future.  I now have a much better understanding of working in and with non-profits and have gained experience working with a variety of community partner organizations.  

This year has taught me to build relationships with community members and organizations, inspire action at a grass roots level, recruit/manage effective volunteers, evaluate programming through data tracking, multi-task on various projects, plan programs for sustainability, laugh every day, utilize community members as team mates, and understand that everyone has something to offer their community (money, time, skills, smiles, etc.).

My post-service plans are to stay in the awesome mountains of Asheville and get back to my roots of art and teaching.  I begin teaching youth ceramics classes at a local community clay center in September and will be a substitute teacher for the local county schools beginning at the end of August.  My fingers are crossed for a full-time teaching job at the school I’ve been working with, as the current art teacher is retiring in the fall.  Above all, my future plans are to continue to have a positive impact on the community where I live by being a good listener, an active volunteer, and an advocate.