Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
The AmeriCorps Connections Podcast is a space where alumni, members, and partners share how national service shapes careers, communities, and lives. Hosted by AmeriCorps alum Nicki Fiocco, each episode highlights stories of resilience, leadership, and purpose—showing that while service terms may end, the impact and connections continue.
Tune in each week on your favorite podcast platform to listen, follow, subscribe, and share. Check it out and be part of the ongoing story of service.
Watch the conversation on You Tube - https://www.youtube.com/@americorpsconnections
Follow AmeriCorps Connections on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/americorpsconnections/
Callie Fishburn VISTA
Nicki Fiocco:
[00:00:00] So, hi everybody. Thank you so much for joining the AmeriCorps Connections podcast and we haven't done it already. Please hit subscribe. It really makes a difference in the podcast algorithms. So if you like this content and you want it to continue, just. Need you to hit subscribe and share it. Callie Fishburn: One time somebody came into the office, it was usually remote because of the pandemic, but one person wanted to meet in person and she was in tears.
'cause she was like, if I don't get this grant from the state, she was like, I am like done for
Nicki Fiocco: Callie. I'm excited to be here. And a little bit of background funness is that me and your mom are coworkers. And when I found out that you were in AmeriCorps alone, I gotta get her on the podcast. I'm excited to be highlighting, showcasing your AmeriCorps year in this interview.
Let's start with how did you find out about AmeriCorps and what made you want to join?
Callie Fishburn: Yeah.
[00:01:00] I had moved back home after trying out a grad school program. That just wasn't quite what I wanted. And I had done a previous service year in Maryland where I grew up, where I'm from originally, and it was not affiliated with AmeriCorps, but it was focused on Chesapeake Bay Conservation.
Very similar model of a service year, looking to attract younger people who are interested in career exploration and learning skills and that sort of thing. I enjoyed that program. I enjoyed being part of that cohort. And it was similar where you got placed at a host site. Uh, they were all in the state of Maryland and they were all environmental organizations focused on either directly or indirectly, Chesapeake Bay Conservation.
So more of a specific focus than the general AmeriCorps program, but it was, again, very similar model and just enjoyed being part of that cohort and learning. And then the COVID pandemic happened in the middle of that
[00:02:00] service year, so I finished up that service year during that. And then just with kind of the uncertainty with the economy at that time, that, and just thinking about wanting to.
Help in some way just feel getting a feeling that I was doing something helpful, even if it wasn't direct COVID relief or anything like that. I started thinking about AmeriCorps having done this previous service year, and so I actually just went onto the good old, my AmeriCorps portal page, which at the time, I don't know if they've done any updates on it since.
That was very, uh, almost kind of quaint. And very, uh, felt very old school, um, interface and the portal and everything. But I was just searching opportunities first in Maryland and then, then I focused my search on Vermont. 'cause that is somewhere that, uh, my grandparents lived there at the time and. Also, I had visited them a number of times as a child pretty much every summer in
[00:03:00] Vermont and was familiar with the southern part of the state and thought that it might be an interesting opportunity to serve somewhere that I was familiar with but hadn't lived before.
And stumbled across the opportunity where I ended up being a Vista serving at that host site, and that was the Bennington County Regional Commission.
Nicki Fiocco: I love that. So good you for being like, okay, I did this Conservation Corps, I'm interested in AmeriCorps, and you knew where to focus, and how cool was it to go to a place where your grandparents were and that you visited.
Obviously you ended up getting that service here, and what did you like, what was the onboarding and what were some of the projects that you were focusing on?
Callie Fishburn: Yeah, so once I actually. Got there and started the service year, which was September of 2021. I met with my supervisor and we had this conversation and he was like, yeah, we're gonna
[00:04:00] have to.
Shift the number of things 'cause we've had to do some pivoting in our office in light of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. And, um, the position was primarily focused on economic development. You know, Vista is a program focused on capacity building and poverty alleviation. That was a pretty consistent focus of my host site.
That didn't really change. It was more like the specifics of what I would be working on. I think I ended up helping with a number of implementing and coordinating some of the statewide Vermont statewide. Um. Pandemic recovery programs for people who had faced economic hardships brought about by the pandemic.
And so our office was helping administer some of those programs locally in the Bennington County area. And so that was. One focus of my service. And then the other focus was through a partnership [00:05:00] with the local college here in Bennington. I was working on a food security grant, food security initiative that they had funding for.
So it was really these two interesting, slightly separate pieces. The economic development side of things where I was working directly under my supervisor at the Bennington County Regional Commission. BCRC is just easier to say. That's what I'll say from now on. And then working with this faculty member at Bennington College, which is a four year liberal arts, very small liberal arts college here in Bennington on a food security grant that they had.
Nicki Fiocco: It's, I think that's a really great description of how flexible a service year can be and how in the moment we can be responsive to what's actually happening to our community. And while nobody could have. Even guessed what the pandemic was gonna bring to [00:06:00] everybody, how great it was that in your service you were able to traverse these two different areas that were so specifically in need of support and everybody was just trying to figure out where, what systems that we needed to engage in to keep our business running, keep our employees paid, and keep service.
Um. During your service year. So tell me again, when did you, what year did you start? Was it literally 2020?
Callie Fishburn: Yeah, I think I, and I think I misspoke earlier. I said September, 2021, but it was actually September, 2020.
Nicki Fiocco: Well,
Callie Fishburn: so actually 2020 and it was first, hadn't even gone through a full year of impacts of COVID yet.
So it was September, 2020 through September of 2021, which is when I,
Nicki Fiocco: I was gonna say, and we were kind of like fits and starts, like, we're good. Oh wait, no, we're not. We're good. Yeah. So tell us any of the interactions that you had with the folks [00:07:00] between that time period where you were focusing on. Helping folks get connected to resources?
Like what were some of the things where you really, this is a really changing my outlook on how systems are built in the United States.
Callie Fishburn: Yeah. There were kind of like, again, there were those two sides of the economic development and then the food security. So at the economic development, there was this program that Vermont created in response to the pandemic called the Restart, Vermont Technical Assistance Program or Rev Tub.
It was meant to help small businesses with a priority of bipoc owned, women owned, veteran owned businesses, and I think maybe some other priority populations as well, to help them recover and or pivot from the pandemic. And so it was meant to be like they were pa a business could apply and get paired with a technical assistance provider.
That could look like they were a small business who didn't have any kind of e-commerce presence, but they needed one now because of the pandemic [00:08:00] to, you know, build some sort of, you know, website to advertise their products. And so they could get paired with a, you know, web development company that had been certified through the Rev to program to help get them built, you know, a website or.
Even, I think some, you, they could get paired with like an architect who could help, you know, redesign some other spaces to adhere to social distancing requirements, which were in place at the time. And so just, you know, some, some things like that. And it was. Really interesting talking with some of the local business owners.
Uh, a lot of them were like sole proprietors, so they're just one person show doing everything and maybe hadn't dealt with like a web presence before. Hadn't had to branch into these other areas. And then COVID really threw them for a loop. And then I also realized how this obviously isn't the case for all small business owners, but a lot of them are, there's a lot of financial precarity involved in being a small business owner [00:09:00] and that.
Potential loss or the actual loss of revenue could, was really, I think, scary for a lot of them and just having to pivot to either, yeah, web systems or like some of them like experimenting with shipping their products to customers, which is something they hadn't done before. And so we were trying to make that match with the technical assistance providers and.
Um, and then there were some other programs too through the state where we were maybe helping businesses fill out applications to get like COVID relief funds that the state had. And yeah, it was just really interesting. There were some times where some, a business owner would come into the, one time somebody came into the office, it was usually remote because of the pandemic, but one person wanted to meet in person and she was in tears.
'cause she was like, if I don't get this. Grant from the state. She was like, I'm like done for, so it [00:10:00] was, it was very emotional.
Nicki Fiocco: I always loved this about a service year and I thought my service year was gonna be this, and then it turned out to be this. And we go with the flow as national service members, well, I'm helping these folks do these sorts of things.
Could you kind of sum that up? What was your ethos? What I feel like our ethos of our service year develops during our service year, and
Callie Fishburn: I'm to do the best that I could to answer their questions as best as I could and about a certain application or that sort of thing. Also something in terms of leaving like a lesson learned, something that I, that came up a lot with the food security side of, uh, my Vista year was like, I now know, like it's not a good idea to start something that's gonna be like.
Have like ownership after the Vista has left or if there isn't a, for the next Vista, if there's going to be one to pick it up, or for an [00:11:00] organization to ultimately take responsibility for it. One of the pro projects I was working on through the food security grant was a food system asset map for Bennington County.
Basically mapping all of the different components of the food system in Bennington County from all the growers. So farmers. To the value added producers, like people who make yogurt and cheese and that sort of thing to the. Distribution, like the retail food, like grocery stores and corner markets to disposal, like places where you compost or take trash, you know, trash, that sort of thing.
And it was a really interesting project that I was working on with folks from Bennington College that was a visual map showing these different components that you could go to one or the other, but interesting snapshot from a time from a few years ago. Especially like if an organization has a plan in place for Vista succession and or if the organization, it has a plan [00:12:00] to like, okay, once the Vista has set up this system or set up the project, whatever it is, we take ownership of it as the organization and we just build upon it, keep it updated, put that into it.
But if that piece isn't there, that I think that can lessen the impact of things that, uh, service members do.
Nicki Fiocco: That's such a good jumping off point of the lessons learned during our service year that we carry with us afterwards where you are talking about what's the succession plan of this? I can do all the asset mapping and research and pour all of this information into this is where all the organization is.
But
Callie Fishburn: yeah,
Nicki Fiocco: as your mom and I often say, data is only as good as it is as you input and export it. So during my service year that I always like to use because it's a good visual. No, no memory gardens and parts, unless you have a two year contract. Let's not create or do something that [00:13:00] is a three month long thing that never leads to anything that's sustainable.
I think that what you're speaking to is during your service year. Do you carry that? Now let's shift into. This podcast is about AmeriCorps alums service year, but I'm really interested in what people are doing now and how that thread pulls through into what you're up to now. So were there any great moments where you're like, I don't, this is sustainable, or any lessons learned that you pulled through from your service year to what you're doing now, and tell folks what you're doing now and then we'll pull on that.
Callie Fishburn: So what I'm doing now, actually I was hired by my host site after my service year ended and once I was hired, my focus shifted a little bit. So BCRC is, it's an interesting entity and I'm gonna try and simplify it as much as I can. 'cause there's a lot of like technicals that it's, Vermont doesn't have county [00:14:00] government the way a lot of other states do.
You have municipal government, like city and towns. Mostly towns 'cause it's very small and rural here. And then you have the state government, which encompasses a variety of agencies. And then other than the, like there's a county court system, but other than that, there's no county government. The way that Maryland, where I'm from, has a very strong county government system.
And so regional planning commissions like BCRC are there to fill, fill the gap in terms of like, we're not official county government, but we are technically a public entity and we help municipalities with the go-between. Between state and municipalities, but then we have this other realm Q, our organization, which is unique in that we also do economic development work.
And so that is what I was doing when I was a vista. But then when I got hired, I shifted over to the regional planning, technical assistance for municipality side of things. So it was interesting that I, yeah, I got hired but my didn't get hired like into a position that was natural extension [00:15:00] of my Vista year.
I just got hired into a position where I still had to, you know, there was a still a learning curve even though I'd technically been there for a year. 'cause it was a whole new position. I
Nicki Fiocco: also think that that's also a great example of the potential, like I felt like during my service year I was showing folks what I could do, but I was, but there's, I can expand and to your point about doing Vista, and I was state and national, so I had a little bit more flexibility with direct service.
But it's, you're dipping your toes and going like, yeah, but I'm on the, I'm the one that figures it out. I'm the one that gets things done. Yeah. And that leads you to the organization that you're working for your service site to be like. That's the potential. So when you move into a position, and it's not totally well defined, but
Callie Fishburn: yeah,
Nicki Fiocco: it's defined by Callie's experience and skills and what she's reflected back on what she can do for this organization, which I think is so exciting.
That's one of the things I get so excited about [00:16:00] during, is to
Callie Fishburn: be here.
Nicki Fiocco: Yeah. So yeah, continue. Sorry to I.
Callie Fishburn: Yeah, I think, you know, when I, what I learned and what we talked about in terms of succession planning and don't create a program or a project, that the organization doesn't have the capacity or the intentions of maintaining, and I've kind of seen that 'cause since that in my role we've worked with interns from various universities and whatnot.
Are students working on a project as part of a class? Whenever we are now, when I've been involved in working with interns or students on projects at our office gen generally, I think I want to think of, okay, what are some things that we actually need help. We're not just gonna come up with a project for them to do that we think would be really cool, but then we're not gonna do anything with that once they have
Nicki Fiocco: right
Callie Fishburn: finished.
And so now I'm very much in the mind that we should be thinking about what we actually need. What are the things that we are already gonna be working on that we just need some [00:17:00] support
Nicki Fiocco: mm-hmm.
Callie Fishburn: On. And that is what an intern or, or a student can help us with. And oftentimes too, they can feel gratified knowing that they're helping with a like project that we are already doing and not just something that we came up with to have them do that doesn't really have a clear.
Connection or impact and organizations supporting the college on its things it was already doing. 'cause one part of that grant was the college was managing it, but they were partnering with all these different organizations in the county on food security. Again, it just, that's how it goes. Sometimes you have this great idea and something could be great, and then it doesn't always click into place.
But I tried to think about that whenever I am working with interns or students or short term people that we are. Thinking about what we're gonna do with the, their deliverable, you know, their, their
Nicki Fiocco: product. Yeah. Maybe I should do a special series of all the, all of the AmeriCorps alums who served during the [00:18:00] pandemic.
Because what was important prior to, like you said, this outline of this Vista service might not be relevant to what's happening now, but I love that you take that. Experience from your Vista year to think through how are we going to use these fellows? Yeah. I wanna circle back to what you're doing now and like what do you get the best gratification out from what you're doing at this point in Vermont?
It's cold.
Callie Fishburn: Yeah, it was pretty, uh, moderate today actually. It was rainy, but it was like sixties. Ah, not too bad. One of the. Things that's been gratifying to, to be able to stay on in the community and do is to actually meet people and make connections and see how things evolve and change over time. Mm-hmm.
It was interesting when I started my service year, again, it was during the pandemic and a lot of it had to be remote, like per state. Health and safety requirements. [00:19:00] So I went into the office a couple times when I first started, but really then after it, and then definitely from like the fall into the winter when there were infection spikes again, um, and we were still pro-vaccine is, I actually didn't have a choice.
I had to be working remotely. And so I did a lot of this work, but I didn't really get to connect with people Very, yeah, very much other than obviously Zoom calls like we're doing now. But then when I got to, got the job offer and got to stay and then, you know, the things improved to the point that it was safe to go back into the office and take up in-person activities again, it was really gratifying to have form those relationships with my coworkers that I hadn't been able to fully cultivate in a remote environment, but then also continue.
Either continue relationships or form new ones with people in the [00:20:00] community. Sometimes with Avis or if you move somewhere and you do your year and you leave, you don't get to see how the community evolves after you finished your service year and left. So it's been cool to see that and cool to see while the food security grant ended and.
Some of the projects like the asset map, unfortunately, just through nobody's fault, fizzled out, momentum in other areas continued and I was actually involved and on the board for a while of starting a nonprofit grocery store in downtown Bennington, which is what maybe was, 'cause there's a grocery store now, a food desert area.
So. That market community market is still, still going. I, I recently stepped off the board, but I think a lot of the momentum for that came out of the partners who coalesced around that food security grant.
Nicki Fiocco: Yeah,
Callie Fishburn: I've seen that market. I was, I joined the board before it opened. I saw it open. It's been open for a handful of years [00:21:00] now.
I've seen some of the projects that. The community market has been able to do like cultural lunch series. They did a employment and skills training classes for refugees who arrived in the community. They've got a baby cafe that's support for new parents and breastfeeding support and all that kind of.
So I've seen that grow and I wouldn't have gotten to see that if I had left at the end of my service year. So that's really nice. That's a, I really enjoy that.
Nicki Fiocco: That's amazing and that's cool that you get to extend on. So this podcast hits folks that are alums and then I've actually gotten comments and emails that are like. I didn't know about AmeriCorps, but I think this is perfect for my nephew and they send them interviews with NC C members or whatever. So as we start to land this plane, what are a few things that you would love [00:22:00] for the alums to reflect on?
What do you want this group of 1.3 million of us to actually do? And is there a call to action that. I don't know, maybe people in Vermont are listening to this that you want them to get engaged with or involved with?
Callie Fishburn: Well, there's a number of things. First, everybody should, I'll say this and then I'll add some caveats, but I think everybody should do a service here.
I've heard people say everyone should work in retail or food service or customer service. Yeah, I definitely heard people say that, but everybody should do a service here. And the caveats I'll add is that I think it oftentimes takes a, a fair amount of financial privilege to be able to do that. 'cause I know it differs the stipend that AmeriCorps members receive, differ, and depending on what program you're in and what area of the country you're serving in.
But oftentimes it's like poverty level wages, or at least it was in my program and. A lot of people can't simply can't afford that. They [00:23:00] can't afford to take that low pay and get paid and experience and hope that it's gonna turn into something after that they need a job that is going to or pay them better or give them better benefits.
I'll add that ca. In a perfect world, everybody should do a service year, I think 'cause it's a great experience, but I know that it's not financially possible for so many people and I feel very privileged to have been able to do it. And also I just given things happening at the federal level, I just don't know what the, how secure the future of AmeriCorps is, is.
So, I would love to tell anybody, young people, especially young people who are unsure about what career they're interested in, but obviously anyone of any age, 'cause AmeriCorps is for everybody of all ages. But uh, I know it has a lot of draw for young people. I'd love to tell all the young people in my life and listeners that.
You should do this, but I also know that there's a fair amount of uncertainty and then [00:24:00] financial uncertainty, but then just federal level.
Nicki Fiocco: Yeah. And I'll just say to your point, I did my service year in my mid thirties.
Callie Fishburn: Mm-hmm.
Nicki Fiocco: And it was, it was really a, a launching pad for
Callie Fishburn: mm-hmm.
Nicki Fiocco: The whole industry that I didn't even know existed.
Yeah. And totally understand the caveats of like, yeah. Who the heck knows who's actually happening over the next like three to five years. But agree, if you can take the jump, take or take the leap, take the chance. Go for it. A hundred
Callie Fishburn: percent. Yeah. And if you can come serve in Vermont, I'm biased, but, or just it's worth trying.
Especially if you're someone who has grown up or primarily spent time in a very urban environment, it could be. Really valuable to try and get out of your comfort zone geographically, not just from a different area of the country, but if going into a rural setting. Because I think people who have never, who have always lived in an urban environment might have preconceptions about what rural life is like and vice [00:25:00] versa.
Right? Too. It goes both ways. Also, just a lot of rural areas really need. Young people, or not just young people, but people with new ideas and enthusiasm coming into
Nicki Fiocco: their communities.
Callie Fishburn: A lot of the people that I know here who have lived here their whole lives and Bennington or majority of their lives can get very cynical about things and they're like, good old day.
Back in my, yeah, factories were open and the jobs were flowing and everything was so much better. Maybe it was better in a number of ways. People who have chosen to come in and make this their adopted community like me, not just me, but others like me, to see the potential in, in an area. And I think that's true not just for Bennington, but a lot of other rural or smaller, uh, non-urban areas.
And there can be a lot of more culture and diversity and going on in rural areas than I think a lot of people might realize. So.
Nicki Fiocco: I think that is an amazing plane landing [00:26:00] where I, I liked adding young folks into rural areas. That's important. And I think that through this conversation you really reflected how you came into an experience where.
You got to learn and grow and it was challenging and the pandemic was challenging, but you made your way and it's a great demonstration of how a service year can guide somebody. And then suddenly you're on this journey with your service year and at the end you're like, I did that. You've always saw fun.
Really? Other than that, I do that. As we land this plane and we close out, are there any last thoughts that you have about. Your service year or that you want folks to definitely walk away with?
Callie Fishburn: I don't know. I feel like I said what I, what I needed to say in terms of, uh, you know, that everybody should do the service year if they're able, and I wish that the situation nationally was [00:27:00] such as it was that people could.
Take that leap and that a s that, you know, they would feel comfortable choosing a service year both from a financial standpoint because it would provide them with all the enough to live comfortably, but also just from a stability, uh, standpoint. So I wish that hopefully if you're still doing this podcast like five, 10 years from now, that will be to a point where anybody who wants to participate in a service year to AmeriCorps or any other program, 'cause I know there are so many out there.
Can do so without having to make difficult financial decisions or wonder if it's the program's gonna go away with on the whim of, so
Nicki Fiocco: that is a beautiful, and, and if, um, what's Bezos's wife's name? Mackenzie. Mackenzie. Mackenzie Scott.
Callie Fishburn: Yeah. Yeah.
Nicki Fiocco: If you are listening. Literally like one of your billions could [00:28:00] actually support this AmeriCorps program for wait some time.
So McKenzie Scott, if you're out there. So anyways, Callie, thank you so much for being on the AmeriCorps Connections podcast and this is the place where we lift up voices of alums. Have gone through a service year, they're reflecting on their service year and how it has impacted their lives now. And until next time, thank you.
And don't forget to like and subscribe because it actually really makes a difference. Thank you, Callie, and we'll see you next time.