For AmeriCorps week, we will be hearing from some of our Alumni about their experiences with AmeriCorps. Hunter Good served with Alpine Achievers Initiative from 2015-2016, and currently teaches at the school where he served! Read this Good story below.
I moved from Georgia, straight out of college, with a degree in Outdoor Leadership. I had zero knowledge of AmeriCorps, but I liked the job description. I had always wanted to live in the Rocky Mountains and I love kids. It was perfect. Little did I know it would be the start to a complete career overhaul and a new outlook on life.
I began my time in AAI as the Outdoor Leadership Coordinator, helping build this program in the very baby steps of Alpine Achievers. I realized very early the joys of a classroom setting and the world of education. This was shocking for me, considering my background in outdoor education. As the service term moved along, I was growing increasingly interested in pursuing Education.
I discovered a Master’s degree program through the Boettcher Teacher Residency and Adams State University that would require me to continue working in the San Luis Valley. I spoke with the administration at Mountain Valley School and explained to them that while I felt that my time in AAI was over, I did not feel that my role in the district was finished and that I wanted to pursue this degree as a student teacher. They accepted me back with open arms as a paraprofessional while I completed my student teaching. The following year, I was MVS’s elementary interventionist and P.E. teacher and received my Master’s in Education. I currently have the role of the combined 2nd and 3rd grade teacher.
Alpine Achievers Initiative provided me with an opportunity to give a year of my life to service in a town that I never thought I would choose otherwise. Saguache is a tiny little place with many families in need. I am faced with the hardships of our students daily. Somehow, I am compelled to stay.
I am surrounded by fellow educational professionals that have equal drive for this area. I am also surrounded by some of the most endearing wilderness and public land that this state holds. I always figured my AmeriCorps year in Saguache would be a good segway into my adult life in Colorado, but I never imagined I would be inspired to change my career goals and stay in this small town for as long as I have.
Stay tuned the rest of the week as we continue to celebrate AmeriCorps week with more stories. Read here about how Alpine Achievers Initiative incorporates AmeriCorps Members into our programs.
By Hunter Good
