Sarah Kim
Boston, MA
Why spend another year on food stamps, stipend living, and sometimes crazy work hours? Monetarily, serving a year as an AmeriCorps member may seem overwhelming but the internal reward of being challenged and finding ownership in your work has been worth it all. Minimal living is simply that, living minimally. It’s possible. There are a lot of people in America who live on less. However, being an AmeriCorps member is not centered around living minimally, but using your time and energy in hopes to help better your community. For the Highland Street Ambassadors of Mentoring, it is the field of mentoring, building capacity in youth mentoring programs to better serve the youth of Massachusetts.
What does serving a second year entail? A fresh start? New beginnings? No, those aren’t the factors that have attracted me to serve another year. It is the enticing opportunity to build upon and refine last year’s work, but also to expand on the research aspect of a Research & Program Associate at Mass Mentoring Partnership to ultimately benefit the field of mentoring. Not just working to share Mass Mentoring Counts—a ‘census’ survey for mentoring programs in the state—with programs, this year, I have the specific opportunity to promote a culture of sharing knowledge between the Mass Mentoring Partnership Staff members and, eventually our partnering programs.
Due to my Human Development and Developmental Psychology background, I have always been exposed to various research & theories on youth development. Researchers perform extensive studies to better the field and to benefit those who are directly working in it; however, most individuals in direct services are unaware of or lack the knowledge of how to utilize the available research. Bridging the gap between research and direct services has always been a personal interest of mine. Staying abreast of new research and new resources better equips and informs those who are involved in the programs. Research can be a beneficial resource available to assist the services of the programs if it is more accessible and applicable.
It is exciting to work with staff members who are interested in continuous learning and sharing available knowledge. Mass Mentoring Partnership is in a unique position as an organization that is an intermediary in providing resources such as trainings, and promoting quality-based practices for the mentoring programs in Massachusetts. Knowledgeable service providers, who intentionally search for new knowledge, can help promote the value of continuous learning and growth, especially in a field with an emphasis on the importance of having a mentor, a role-model who cares about and advocates for a young individual. Serving a second year is an opportunity to be a building block for developing a culture of sharing knowledge in Mass Mentoring Partnership and to move potentially a step forward in assisting the program staff who directly works with youth, and ultimately the youth.
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