Shared by Lukas Miller, as Guest Blogger.

For most part, we’ve all been told the same thing as we grow up, further your education after high school and move on into the work force. Seems pretty straightforward, but many of us have a harder time finding the right path to take.

2018 District 1 Resource Crew at a prescribed burn in Caledon State Park

For some it’s a trade or technical school. Other individuals prefer the traditional four-year university experience. Some of us even choose to enter straight into the work force. Regardless of the path any of us choose, we’re ultimately faced with the responsibility to make ourselves more marketable. We accomplish this by gaining work experience, crossing cultural and ethnic boundaries, and striving to be better humans than we were the day before.

What we need to do, and why we need to do it, are pretty black and white. It’s the how that sometimes eludes us. Any productive method is respected, but a service term with the Virginia Service and Conservation Corps (VSCC) can provide that something extra that individuals and employers alike are both seeking.

Backed by the national service program AmeriCorps, the Virginia Service and Conservation Corps recruits volunteers for service in Virginia State Parks. Over the years members have served in a variety of programs.

RECRUITING

The VSCC is currently recruiting for Crew Members for the Resource Management Project. As part of this project, members will serve on teams of three in one of the six districts in Virginia State Parks and work closely with the District Resource Specialist to mitigate the effects of invasive species throughout the Commonwealth. Prescribed burns, pesticide application, and trail maintenance, creation and reroutes are just a few of the ways our crews spend their service hours.

In return for their service, all members receive a pre-tax monthly living allowance of $1,300. Upon successful completion of the required 1200 hours of service between January 2 and August 31, 2019, members receive an Education Award of $4266.50.

Sounds too good to be true, right? We’d have to check in with an alum and figure out just how beneficial the program was to them.

WHO ARE THE VSCC ALUMNI?

So, who are these mysterious alumni who have served with the VSCC? Most have moved forward with their career is environmental stewardship. I’m one of those prospering individuals. I served with the Natural Resource Crew in 2018 within District 1, which for the most part stretches South of Williamsburg and East of Richmond. I was someone who went off to college with no real direction. I earned my degree in biology and suddenly realized I wasn’t sure what to do with it. From that position of uncertainty,

I found AmeriCorps. I volunteered in two environmental stewardship programs before finding the VSCC. The training that this program offered capped off the experience I had already accumulated and propelled me into a job with the VA State Park System. What job you ask? I am currently the West Region AmeriCorps Program Manager for the VSCC.

Here I am as Resource Crew Member instructing new members on proper tool use

I’m now in a position where I get to recruit volunteers and help others like myself find their path in life. I get to share my experience of serving with members from entirely different socio-economic backgrounds and connect people with an opportunity to grow personally and professionally.

The opportunity to get outside and give back to communities through service in Virginia State Parks is uniquely gratifying. Service with other volunteers as well as park staff members who take a tremendous amount of pride in the work they do has changed the way I approach everyday living.

The Virginia Service and Conservation Corps has the capacity to direct individuals towards the career they’re longing for or help them grow in personal ways. No matter your reason why, the Virginia Service and Conservation Corps is the how.

2018 VSCC Members in Washington, D.C. for the National Day of Service

I’m not the only individual who has benefited from VSCC service. A fourth of the members who finished their service this past August have moved into jobs with VA State Parks. Individuals have found their calling in all parts of the park system; from volunteer management, to law enforcement, to resource management. Two other individuals took their firefighting certifications to the Pacific Northwest to work in wildland fire crews. Others went into resource management in the private sector. One individual even went on to work for the National Park Service.

Looking for that something extra for your career path? You just found it

If you envision yourself in one of these careers and want to gain the personal and professional experience you need to compete, then fill out the application here.

Additional opportunities will be available on the DCR Job Board in early December.

APPLY HERE