Ariel from Auburn, Maine is an alumna of the NCCC Southwest Region campus from service year XIII. Read her story about overcoming physical and social challenges to get things done for America.
At age 12, I was diagnosed with a genetic disorder similar to that of the DiGeorge Syndrome, or 22q11.2 deletion. After I was diagnosed with Velo Cardio Facial Syndrome, I knew I was different. Although I was able to keep up in school academically, I struggled socially, light years behind my peers. This followed me all the way through until college, when I suddenly realized I could make friends just like anyone else.
Since 2002, I volunteered at one of NCCC Atlantic Region projects – Camp Sunshine in Casco, Maine. In 2006, I had tried another AmeriCorps State program, and was heartbroken when they couldn’t accommodate my special needs. I was volunteering at Camp Sunshine that same year and met my very first AmeriCorps NCCC team.
I was skeptical of trying NCCC because of my limited strength and health challenges. What really made me apply to NCCC was the bond between the team that was at Camp Sunshine while I was at the camp that week. I wanted that, and above all I wanted to serve like I had done in Kiwanis.
So I took that chance, and in 2007 my best friend and I entered Class XIII in Denver CO. When our teams were assigned, I was petrified. I told my best friend there is NO way I can live with these people. We are just too different. By the end of the first round of projects, I was gaining strength, overcoming fears, and learning how to work as a team.
I liked my teammates, but I was just starting to feel like I fit in. It would take three rounds of projects before I admitted to them what my challenges were, and once I did, they helped me to overcome them. It was wonderful to have teammates who supported me, told me the truth and are truly like siblings.
What I want everyone who’s interested in NCCC to realize is that AmeriCorps NCCC is truly what you make of it. I learned that I was not the center of the universe. That people had much bigger problems than what I was going through and how good it feels to help someone in need. But this does not come right away. NCCC a unique journey for each individual, it is a team-based program with team and individual stories. Each individual writes the pages, the beginning, middle and end.
Recently I was an intern for a foundation that helps children with brain tumors and I also lost my best friend to cancer. I learned a great deal from those experiences, part of which was that opportunities should be seized and that many people in the world are suffering under great challenges far greater than imagined.
One of the mottos of AmeriCorps is getting things done for America. It’s funny, if I was asked five years ago what AmeriCorps was, I could not have answered correctly. In the fall of 2006, I was a new graduate from the University of Southern Maine with a degree in music and not really knowing where life was going to take me. Suddenly, I felt lost, I was out of the university loop and I did not have enough experience to land a solid job. For years school had been my life, and I was now directionless.
AmeriCorps NCCC gave me the strength, the courage, the on the job training and the friendships I needed to succeed in my adult life, and without that I would not be the person I am today.
If you are thinking about applying to NCCC and you have some social or physical challenges, I encourage you to be open, be honest, be helpful and have fun. You too can get things done for America.
-Ariel
This year, Ariel completed her master's degree in Child Life from the University of La Verne, in Southern CA. Ariel also serves on the NCCC Alumni Leadership Council representing the Atlantic Region in Maine. Since recently becoming engaged, Ariel plans to move to Sacramento, California with her fiancé. All of her teammates from NCCC are expected to attend the wedding ceremony.
The AmeriCorps NCCC Alumni Leadership Council was recently established to increase NCCC's alumni engagement. The council currently consists of 11 members including 2 alums representing each region and 1 Chair. Alums are currently spear-heading committees related to new member recruitment, building relationships with project sponsors, fundraising, national days of service days, and 20th Anniversary planning. Please contact Tiffany Zapico if you'd like to become involved as a Regional Rep ncccalums@gmail.com.