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"I cannot preach like Martin Luther King, Jr. or turn a poetic phrase like Maya Angelou, but I care and am willing to serve.” This is an excerpt from a poem written by Marian Wright Edelman, but to me it is so much more than words on a page. It reflects my life and how being a part of NH Reads has changed it incredibly. Before joining NH Reads AmeriCorps in September 2006, I graduated from NHTI in Concord with a degree in Early Childhood Education. After graduating, I decided to search for work in my field before deciding on whether to continue my education. This search proved much harder than I ever expected. I spent 18 months going to interview after interview only to be rejected and told I did not have enough experience. In reality I believe the rejections had more to do with the fact that I was disabled and in a wheelchair. At one interview, the first question asked was if I was permanently in a wheelchair. When I answered yes, the interviewer said that I could observe children on the playground and another interview would be set up at a later date, which never happened.
Just when I was about to give up on my dream of working with children, everything changed! I went for my interview for NH Reads AmeriCorps. From the onset both Peg Downing and Carol Mauceri were open to working with me despite my disability. They saw beyond my wheelchair and looked at my potential and me. They willingly discussed adaptations that would be needed for me to be successful and these did not seem to faze them at all. During my initial interview, I explained that I was currently carpooling with family and not driving much on my own so transportation might be a challenge. Again, Peg and Carol were willing to work with these limitations. Having Peg and Carol give me a chance meant more to me than words can express and this was just the beginning.
Since I was hired and began my service with NH Reads, I have become so much more confident, independent and have experienced more freedom than I ever have in my whole life. Although it was very scary to me, getting this job forced me to drive on my own, which I had never done before. Although I had my license, I rarely drove prior to joining AmeriCorps, and then only with one of my parents. Driving alone was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I even find myself enjoying driving and look forward to driving myself to work. I truly believe this would not have happened had I not been given this chance to serve.
The other way that NH Reads has changed the quality of my life is because of the people I have met at NH Reads and the people that I am surrounded each day in the Community Action building. For example the office that Peg Downing, the director of NH Reads works in, had a door that was too narrow for my wheelchair to get through, so when I needed to talk to her I had to hang out in the hallway. I am used to such inaccessibility, but others in the building felt differently and before long, Doma Watson, the facility manager, quickly remedied the problem. Peg’s office door was widened and Peg quickly rearranged her office to accommodate me. The bathrooms at this facility were not wheelchair accessible either. Without me even asking, Doma and his work crew totally remodeled one bathroom from the floor up. They worked all week and into the weekend to get the job done. The bathroom is beautiful and it is so wonderful to be able to move about the building without struggling. These accommodations were made possible, in part, through grant funds through the State AmeriCorps office
NH Reads has allowed me to give back to my community and although I am not able to serve in the military like so many others have, this is a way I can give back to my country. With the exception of my parents, I have never had so many people support me. It has been truly life changing to be a part of NH Reads AmeriCorps and as a result “I care and am willing to serve.” |
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