“I'm glad I participated. It was a neat experience," said Kjerstin Wepking, who recently completed the 10-month program with the corps, which helps meet the country's critical needs in education, public safety, health and the environment.
“It takes a lot of flexibility and a lot of hard work - you meet amazing people who come from all different perspectives of life," she added.
Wepking worked for Habitat for Humanity, at a camp for special needs children and at various locations in Mississippi in connection with Hurricane Katrina disaster relief.
The work of the national organization, sometimes referred to as the “domestic Peace Corps," centers on strengthening communities, she noted.
A 2000 graduate of Waynesboro Area Senior High School, Wepking earned a bachelor's degree in social work from Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. She worked as a gambling addictions counselor in Des Moines, Iowa, for six months prior to joining the corps.
“There were (AmeriCorps) recruiters at my college, and being a social work major I was interested in finding a community service program to work with," she said.
“That may not seem like a lot, but it is. You have people coming into the program who are just out of high school, some are taking a break from school or work and some have already graduated - this is an alternative before entering the real world," she said.
“It was scary at the beginning, but hard to say goodbye. By the end, it's like your family. Now I have friends all over the United States."
NCCC has five campuses throughout the nation, including Denver, Colo., Sacramento, Calif., Charleston, S.C., Perry Points, Md. and Washington, D.C.
“You travel in teams of eight to 10 people - that's your AmeriCorps family - you live, work and prepare meals with them," Wepking said. “It's an interesting dynamic, a different experience. Each member of the team brings something to the situation."
“It wasn't your typical Habitat project. We worked with a deconstruction crew - tearing down houses and salvaging materials for Habitat to resell. The money raised from that would be put back into the program for building new houses," she noted.
“It was really intense sometimes - the amount of personal care it took to make sure all the campers' needs were taken care of and that they were having a good time."
In Mississippi, Wepking's service began at a multi-agency staging area, a warehouse where the donations come in from all over the United States.
“Any house that had roof damage from the hurricane, they could call a central number and we would put tarps on them until the insurance companies got there to do (damage) estimates."
“The residents were so appreciative. It was a great experience - intense and overwhelming," she said. “The people were wonderful."
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