How a City Year Recruiter Changed My Life

After graduating from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, I was unsure of what I wanted to do. I ended up double majoring (Sociology/Criminology) in my last year of college. I had an engineering background, and as I was nearing graduation, I realized that was not the career field I wanted to pursue. I remember being at a career fair during my senior year, I was working for the Career Development Center for the university at the time, and I remember the City Year recruiter speaking with students. I noticed every student walked away with a smile. Something about the interactions between the recruiter and each student made an impression on me.

After that day, I never forgot about that City Year recruiter.

Immediately following graduation, I applied to serve with City Year as an AmeriCorps member, and the rest was history! The influence my AmeriCorps member experience had on me was life-changing. I would not be where I am today had I not served. After completing my service year, I knew I wanted to continue to help young people somehow. Through hours and hours of professional development and networking as an AmeriCorps member, I recognized my passion for recruitment.

I worked as an Admissions Recruitment Coordinator at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. And I enjoyed everything about the nature of the work. Exposing students to new opportunities and sharing valuable information was fulfilling. About two years later, the opportunity to serve with City Year Little Rock returned in a different capacity, and a new door opened. I now serve as the Community Partnership Manager for City Year Little Rock, and I love it here! Every day I get to form new relationships with organizations all over the state that share the same heart for young people!

My time in service as an AmeriCorps member taught me there are many ways to serve our young people outside of the classroom setting. And as long as you have a heart for service, you will succeed in this work! I am excited about what the future holds. The sky is the limit!